Booksellers took a turn behind the camera as part of a contest orchestrated by Clarion Books to promote the publication of Flotsam by Caldecott Medal-winner David Wiesner ($17, 0618194576). Currently at #4 on the New York Times
children's books bestseller list, the imaginative tale is the story of
a young boy who goes to the beach to collect flotsam (anything floating
that washes up on shore) and finds an underwater camera with a plethora
of pictures on it.
Some 53 booksellers from coast to coast took part in the contest, with two to three sharing each camera. The amateur photographers were asked to take four pictures, enter brief descriptions of the photos in a logbook and then send the camera on to the next bookseller. The publisher originally planned to limit the promotion to 30 participants but expanded the number after receiving an enthusiastic response from booksellers eager to try their hand at snapping photos.
The winners (selected by Wiesner) were announced on Friday on the Web site www.thefishknowthesecret.com. Top honors went to Katie Eyre and Pat Rutledge of A Book for All Seasons in Leavenworth, Wash., for their photograph "Waterproof Words." Wiesner wrote on the site's blog, "It was initially overwhelming to think I could pick just one out of all those photos." Eyre and Rutledge's picture, he added, "had caught my eye from the beginning, and in the end it had a simplicity and magical quality that captured the wonder of reading." The prize is a store event with Wiesner to take place in spring 2007, along with a signed set of the author's books and an original piece of artwork. Retha Davis of Kid's Center in Tucson, Ariz., and Katrina Pearson of Hearthside Books in Juneau, Alaska, each garnered an Honorable Mention.
Along with the winning photos, the Web site includes a list of participating bookstores and maps tracing the paths of the cameras. More Flotsam-inspired pictures will be posted in the coming days.--Shannon McKenna
Some 53 booksellers from coast to coast took part in the contest, with two to three sharing each camera. The amateur photographers were asked to take four pictures, enter brief descriptions of the photos in a logbook and then send the camera on to the next bookseller. The publisher originally planned to limit the promotion to 30 participants but expanded the number after receiving an enthusiastic response from booksellers eager to try their hand at snapping photos.
The winners (selected by Wiesner) were announced on Friday on the Web site www.thefishknowthesecret.com. Top honors went to Katie Eyre and Pat Rutledge of A Book for All Seasons in Leavenworth, Wash., for their photograph "Waterproof Words." Wiesner wrote on the site's blog, "It was initially overwhelming to think I could pick just one out of all those photos." Eyre and Rutledge's picture, he added, "had caught my eye from the beginning, and in the end it had a simplicity and magical quality that captured the wonder of reading." The prize is a store event with Wiesner to take place in spring 2007, along with a signed set of the author's books and an original piece of artwork. Retha Davis of Kid's Center in Tucson, Ariz., and Katrina Pearson of Hearthside Books in Juneau, Alaska, each garnered an Honorable Mention.
Along with the winning photos, the Web site includes a list of participating bookstores and maps tracing the paths of the cameras. More Flotsam-inspired pictures will be posted in the coming days.--Shannon McKenna