The self-published STONE EDGE FARM COOKBOOK, from the Sonoma, CA farm and vineyard of the same name, won the IACP‘s Cookbook of the Year award, along with honors as best first book. The illustrated $60 book appears to be available for sale only directly through the farm. The cookbook awards in approximately 20 categories included an award for best ecookbook, presented to THE JOURNEY, which is “the first edition in the Alta Editions Cooking Series.” With recipes from chefs Katy Sparks, Alex Raij, Maneet Chauhan, Rita Sodi and Kathleen Squires, the series is actually presented as a $1.99 a month subscription.
The separate digital media awards category included honors for Food52, which shared the “best culinary website” award with Saveur. Food52 received backing from Bertelsmann in their 2013 funding round and is partnering with Random House.
In other awards news, NoViolet Bulawayo’s WE NEED NEW NAMES won the PEN/Hemingway Award for a first work of fiction. The book was one of our Spring/Summer 2013 Buzz Books. The newest group of 2014 Buzz Books available to sample in our free ebook includes seven debut works of fiction, all set for release from May through early August. Check out samples now of The Bees by Laline Paull; Young God by Katherine Faw Morris; The Untold by Courtney Collins; The Last Magazine by Michael Hastings; Last Night at the Blue Angel by Rebecca Rotert; 2 A.M. at the Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino; and Painted Horses by Malcolm Brooks. Download it here, or on your favorite ebook platform.
The International Board on Books for Young People has announced the shortlists for the two biennial Hans Christian Andersen Awards, honoring “an author and illustrator whose complete works have made lasting contributions to children’s literature.” The winners will be named March 24 at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.
The only nominated creator from the US is Jacqueline Woodson, timely recognition in light of Christopher Myers’ front-page Sunday NYT op-ed piece on “the apartheid of children’s literature.” The jury notes that “Woodson often features African-American characters in her books because she feels strongly that children need to see themselves reflected in books. Each book she writes is a new experience, a way to learn something new or engage with a different subject that matters to her.”