1. notleia says:

    I’ll admit I’m pretty harsh on romances, but I just don’t think that most romances are capable of carrying a novel-length story on their own. There’s only so long that you can stretch it out, otherwise we get teeth-grittingly annoying love triangles/quadrangles/decagons and angsty, melodramatic wafflery. It works better for me as a subplot.

  2. I understand what you’re saying, Notleia. If I read romance, I prefer something like romantic suspense. But every once in a while there’s a Sleepless In Seattle kind of story that I find heartwarming. And there are lots and lots of people (mostly women) who really enjoy romance. I don’t think it’s a good idea to dismiss their genre (and in a backhanded way, them) simply because it’s not a personal preference.

    On the other hand, I have some strong feelings about romance that is too graphic or that a person uses to replace real relationships. But that’s a little different subject.

    Becky

  3. dmdutcher says:

    I think it will continue until the market gets a little more balanced. Currently you have the mainstream CBA novels, the small presses, and the indie publishers, and there’s a lot of striation and dissatisfaction with all three. You wind up with snobbery if just because people seem to only find what they want in one out of the three.

  4. Patrick Moore says:

    People like what they like and it is very subjective. “Snobbery” is a bit harsh. I’m not going to read romance or horror simply because I don’t enjoy those kinds of stories. To me fantasy and science fiction are the best and they are what I seek more of, because the time I spend reading is valuable to me and I want to enjoy it. I could give reasons why I don’t like certain stories and why I do like others, and I still feel that is not snobbery. I accept and respect that others feel differently and choose differently. That is okay with me. Snobbery is when one gets ugly about it. When they go beyond giving their own opinion to trying to tell others what they should think about it too. Snobs need a group they can leave others out of. Most people are just individuals who like what they like.
    It is sad to hear that anyone would get ugly about a book not meeting the criteria for a specific award. Those who want to award a particular kind of book are not snobs either. They aren’t putting anyone down. They just want to award what they like. The category needs to be narrow and not everyone can win. Name calling tends to tell you more about the person doing it than the ones they are putting the label on, and lately name calling seems to say “I’m not responsible for my failure, it’s some fill-in-the-insult’s fault”.

  5. Ben Avery says:

    Will small press and self-published books not be eligible again this year?

What do you think?