Moby Awards 2010 & 2011


 

2010 was the first year for the Moby Awards for the best and worst book trailers.
This was their website.
Content is from the site's 2010 - 2011 archived pages as well as other outside sources.

 

Please join us Thursday, June 2nd at Powerhouse Arena, 8-10pm, for the second annual Moby Awards.
We’ll be handing out the gold sperm whales to the winners, screening our favorite great/horrible book trailers and handing out a few lifetime achievement and “special” awards.
The event is open to the public. Formal wear suggested. Beer and wine will be served.

PowerHouse Arena is located at
37 Main Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201

FINALISTS

We’ll see you at the Award Ceremony on
 Thursday, June 2nd at powerHouse Arena

Book Trailer As Stand Alone Art Object:
-Autobiography of Jenny X – Lisa Dierbeck
-How Did You Get This Number? – Sloane Crosley
-Wild Child – TC Boyle
-The Orange Eat Creeps – Grace Krilanovich
-The Instructions – Adam Levin
-The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating – Elizabeth Bailey

Best Big House:
- Where Good Ideas Come From –Steven Johnson
-Packing for Mars – Mary Roach
-Room – Emma Donoghue
-Blood’s a Rover – James Ellroy
-Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter – Seth Grahame-Smith

Worst Big House:
-Savages – Don Winslow
-Kapitoil – Teddy Wayne
-Revolution – Jennifer Donnelly
-Stuntman! – Hal Needham
-Wild Fire – Nelson DeMille
-When Did I Get Like This? – Amy Wilson
Best Small House:
-At the Tea Party – edited by Laura Flanders
- Night of the Living Trekkies – Kevin David Anderson & Sam Stall
-The Orange Eat Creeps – Grace Krilanovich
-Tree of Codes – Jonathan Safran Foer
- The Instructions – Adam Levin

Worst Small /No House:
-Pirates: The Midnight Passage – James R. Hannibal
-Bloodroot – Larry Arrowood
-If I Should Die Before I Wake – LaRhonda Ferguson
-Chimera – Rob Thurman
-Healers Apprentice – Melanie Dickerson

Worst Performance by an Author
-Erik Stinson – The Stinson Effect
-Jonathan Franzen – Freedom
-Brandon R. Benjamin – Atlantis
-Stuart Ross – Buying Cigarettes for the Dog (could be best performance, hard to tell)
-Carolyn Evans – 40 Beads

Most Celebtastic Performance:
- Jay-Z - Decoded
-James Franco - Super Sad True Love Story
-Denis Leary - Suck on This Year
-Jeff Garlin -My Footprint / Empty the Sun
-Bradley Cooper - Wild Fire (look real hard for it)

What Are We Doing To Our Children? (good or bad, you decide)
-The Hidden Alphabet – Laura Vaccaro Seeger
-Poop Happened – Sarah Albee
-Shark vs Train - Chris Barton & Tom Lichtenheld
-It’s A Book – Lane Smith
-Little Chicken’s Big Day – Katie Davis

2010 PRESS RELEASES

300 readers and writers RSVP’d for Melville House’s first annual Moby Awards in Manhattan last night. The winners walked away with a gold-painted plastic whale.

A motley crew of presenters and judges (including this GalleyCat editor) joined the festivities. Among the many highlights, author John Wray hugged himself after Zach Galifinakis won the Best Cameo in a Book Trailer award for the Lowboy video embedded above for Lowboy.

Watch the other winners below…

Best Low Budget/Indie Book Trailer: I am in the Air Right Now by Kathryn Regina

Best Big Budget/Big House Book Trailer:
Going West by Maurice Gee



NZ Book Council - Going West

 

Best Performance by in Author: Dennis Cass in Head Case

Least Likely Trailer to Sell the Book: Sounds of Murder by Patricia Rockwell

The awards also included a few “honorary” awards from Melville House…

Best Foreign Film Book Trailer:
Etcetera and Otherwise: a Lurid Odyssey, by Sean Stanley, illustrated by Kristi-ly Green

Bloodiest Book Trailer of the Year:
Killer by Dave Zeltserman

Most Annoying Music: New Year’s At the Pier by April Halprin Wayland

Biggest Waste of Conglomerate Money:
Level 26 by Anthony Zuiker

 

  • Wall Street Journal MAY 21, 2010, 3:15 PM ET

Moby Awards: Judging a Book By Its Trailer

At the first annual Moby Awards, Indie publisher Dennis Johnson bequeathed gold spray painted gray whales to each of the five book trailer category winners. Moby Dick, the venerable sperm whale, was Johnson’s inspiration for the blog MobyLives, which sponsored the event. Unfortunately for Johnson, Toys”R”Us was completely sold out of rubber sperm whales, so gray whales would have to do. When an online jewelry retailer suggested a more valuable trophy, the publisher briefly considered offering sterling silver rings instead of the gold whales, but the idea was voted down by the organizers, many of whom actually loved the tackiness of the rubber icons. But the sterling silver rings retailer persisted and came back with a sterling silver whale ring and some alternative sterling silver rings with elegant whale designs. He even created a unique sterling silver rings display where he could showcase the whale rings in a way that impressed the sponsors enough to reconsider. Unfortunately, tacky won out, and the rubber whales became destiny's child.

“This is an idea that got out of hand,” Johnson said in his opening comments to the audience Thursday night, a group of 100 or so book trailer enthusiasts at The Griffin in New York City. Book trailers, a moderately new web-based method for publishers and authors to advertise their novels and titles, are best described exactly as they sound – a movie-like trailer for a piece of literary work.

The five categories were Best Cameo in a Book Trailer, Best Author Appearance, Best Big Budget Book Trailer, Best Low Budget Book Trailer and Book Trailer Least Likely to Actually Sell the Book. The nomination and submission process was open to all book trailer makers. Over the course of the open call nomination process, which included any trailer that was produced between April 2009 and April 2010, Johnson and the Melville House received over 250 submissions – or 12 hours of video trailers.

“This is meant to be a spoof,” Johnson frankly admitted. “Look at the book business, it’s looking more and more to Hollywood. First authors had agents, now they need to be young, beautiful and know how to act. Trailers are an exhibit inside the book, you can take from it.”

Brooklyn novelist John Wray began the ceremony by presenting Best Cameo in a Book Trailer to…himself. His video of Zack Galifinakis and himself sitting on a couch in Lowboy took the whale, and Wray promptly hugged himself and literally jumped up and down with joy.

“It’s sort of like a moderate rush of euphoria,” the novelist said after the ceremony, sitting in a beige booth, “because it’s a real award, one actually that looks like something I would have wanted on my night table as a little boy.” The Lowboy trailer took a single hour to shoot, two days and $180 to produce.

Throughout the evening, the tone of the event was playful shot through with sarcasm, and casual despite the required formal attire. Johnson proudly attested to tying his own bowtie, which glowed under the yellow persimmon light of the chandelier and reflected off the mirrored ceiling.

The next award was presented by Megan Halpern, the architect of the event, for Best Author Appearance. Dennis Cass won for  Head Case (Book Launch 2.0), and Halpern pulled out her cell phone and called Cass onstage to congratulate him. Via phone, Cass exclaimed “I do it all for people like you.”

The Best Big Budget Trailer whale went to Maurice Gee for Going West, a New Zealand Book Council effort. Johnson said he doubted anyone from the country was in town for the event, so he would mail the whale to them.

“Trailers are like TV ads for books,” said the British Colin Robinson, the co-publisher of OR Books, one of the judges in the academy, and a presenter. “Unless you are a big author, there’s no promotion. But if you have a friend with a camera and a script, you can make a little video and level the playing field.”

Carolyn Kellogg of the Los Angeles Times’ Jacket Copy announced via pre-recorded video sent from California that Kathryn Regina won in the Best Low Budget category for I am in the Air Right Now, a 1:27 illustrated video with her voice narrating over the trailer.

Regina’s whereabouts were unclear, so Johnson and Halpern quickly moved on.

The final award was a self-nominated category, Book Trailer Least Likely to Actually Sell the Book, which Patricia Rockwell took for Sounds of Murder. The trailer was so awful that Halpern may have subconsciously forgot to place it on the DVD of award winning trailers.

Circle of Seven Productions, a sponsor of the night’s events, began using the term “book trailer” in 2002, when the Kentucky-based production company created their first trailer. CEO Sheila Clover English swiftly trademarked the term in 2003.

In closing, Johnson assured the crowd that a second annual Moby Awards was definitely in the works, and that next year, not only would the whales be of the sperm species, but they would be mounted too.

The winners:
Best Cameo in a Book Trailer:
Zach Galifinakis in Lowboy
Best Performance by in Author:
Dennis Cass in Head Case
Best Big Budget/Big House Book Trailer:
Going West by Maurice Gee
Best Low Budget/Indie Book Trailer:
I am in the Air Right Now by Kathryn Regina
Least Likely Trailer to Sell the Book:
Sounds of Murder by Patricia Rockwell

 

Melville House presents Moby Awards for best and worst book trailers

April 27, 2010|By Amy Guth | Chicago Tribune reporter

Book trailers, short videos to promote forthcoming books just as the film industry has produced for years to promote feature films, have received mixed reviews. Some love them and embrace the multi-media approach to book promotion while others hate them and feel that the written word is in great peril when video must be involved. But the legitimacy of book trailers has taken a large step forward, as Independent publisher Melville House has announced the inaugural Moby Awards for best and worst book trailers:

Melville House is excited to announce the first annual Moby Awards for the year’s best and worst book trailers, to be handed out in a formal, red carpet ceremony at THE GRIFFIN (50 Gansevoort Street in New York City’s Meatpacking District) on Thursday, May 20, 2010. Awards will be presented for book trailers that were produced between April 2009 and April 2010, whether by authors, editors, big houses, or little indies. The event is open to all publishing and media professionals, authors, and their guests. Indie publisher Dennis Loy Johnson, founder of the venerable book blog MobyLives, will be the host, and acclaimed novelist John Wray, and other surprise celebrity guests, will open the envelopes to read out the winners and present them with their trophies.

 

Jacket Copy
BOOKS, AUTHORS AND ALL THINGS BOOKISH

Is this the best book trailer of the year or not?

LOs Angeles Times / April 28, 2010 

 

Two months ago, the corner of the Internet devoted to books went crazy for actor Zach Galifianakis' appearance in a book trailer for John Wray's "Lowboy." Slumped on a red couch and drinking beer, Galifianakis pretended to be Wray. Wray sat on the other end of the couch, pretending to be a bright-eyed, Charlie Rose version of Galifianakis. As far as book trailers go, it had more Hollywood sheen ("The Hangover"!) and was softer-sell than most.

But was it the best book trailer of the year?

That may be determined at Melville House's first-ever Moby Awards. The independent publisher has decided that the strange and spotty field of book trailers needs some measure of success. Or is it failure? The awards, dedicated to the year's best and worst book trailers, will be presented in New York in May.

Judges for the awards will be OR Books publisher Colin Robinson, Slate's Troy Patterson, Jason Boog from GalleyCat, Megan Halpern from Melville House and me.

-- Carolyn Kellogg

 

 

 



 

2011

Please join us Thursday, June 2nd at Powerhouse Arena, 8-10pm, for the second annual Moby Awards.
We’ll be handing out the gold sperm whales to the winners, screening our favorite great/horrible book trailers and handing out a few lifetime achievement and “special” awards.
The event is open to the public. Formal wear suggested. Beer and wine will be served.

PowerHouse Arena is located at
37 Main Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201

 

The outstanding panel of judges:

Stephanie Anderson – WORD Bookstore Brooklyn, Store Manager
Jason Boog – GalleyCat/eBookNewser, Editor
Patrick Brown – GoodReads, Community Manager
Blake Butler – HTML Giant, Founder and Editor
Michele Filgate – McNally Jackson, Events Coordinator
Amy Hertz – Huffington Post, Literary Editor
Andy Hunter – Electric Literature, Founder and Editor
Dennis Johnson – Melville House, Publisher
C. Max Magee – The Millions, Founder and Editor
Kathleen Massara – Flavorpill, Literary Editor
Laura Miller – Salon, Senior Writer/Book Critic
Troy Patterson – Slate, Television Critic

2011 Moby Awards



Moby Lifetime Achievement Award
Ron Charles wins Moby Lifetime Achievement Award for The Totally Hip Video Book Review

 

Congratulations to all the 2011 winners. And many thanks to our panel of judges.


Lifetime Achievement Award:
-Ron Charles – Acceptance Speech
Grand Jury/We’re Giving You This Award Because Otherwise You’d Win Too Many Other Awards:
-Super Sad True Love Story – Gary Shteyngart

Book Trailer As Stand Alone Art Object:
-How Did You Get This Number? – Sloane Crosley
Best Big House:
-Packing for Mars – Mary Roach
Worst Big House:
-Savages – Don Winslow
Best Small House:
-Tree of Codes – Jonathan Safran Foer
Worst Small / No House:
-Pirates: The Midnight Passage – James R. Hannibal
Worst Performance by an Author:
-Jonathan Franzen – Freedom
Most Celebtastic Performance:
-James Franco - Super Sad True Love Story
What Are We Doing To Our Children?:
-It’s A Book – Lane Smith
General Technical Excellence and Courageous Pursuit of Gloriousness:
-Electric Literature
Most Monkey Sex:
-Bonobo Handshake – Vanessa Woods
Worst Soundtrack:
-GhostGirl
Most Angelic Angel Falling to Earth:
-Torment – Lauren Kate
Most Conflicted: (we published the book but the trailer is sooo good!)
T Cooper – Beaufort Diaries

 

 

2011 PRESS RELEASES

Best & Worst Book Trailers of the Year

GalleyCat
By Jason Boog on Jun. 3, 2011

A crew of book trailer fans gathered at the Powerhouse Arena in Brooklyn last night for the second annual Moby Awards.

This GalleyCat editor helped judge the annual prizes, celebrating the best and worst book trailers of the year. Follow this link to watch all the finalists. We’ve listed all the winners below…

Lifetime Achievement Award: Ron Charles (acceptance speech embedded above). When asked about rumors of his retirement, Charles told GalleyCat: “Like any over-the-hill rock star, I know that the best way to reignite interest in my flagging career is to call it quits. I’m hopeful that this last episode will be the first in a long line of last episodes.”

Best Big House: Packing for Mars – Mary Roach

Worst Big House: Savages – Don Winslow

Grand Jury/We’re Giving You This Award Because Otherwise You’d Win Too Many Other Awards: Super Sad True Love Story – Gary Shteyngart

Book Trailer As Stand Alone Art Object: How Did You Get This Number? – Sloane Crosley

Best Small House: Tree of Codes – Jonathan Safran Foer

Worst Small / No House: Pirates: The Midnight Passage – James R. Hannibal

Worst Performance by an Author: Jonathan Franzen – Freedom

Most Celebtastic Performance: James Franco – Super Sad True Love Story

What Are We Doing To Our Children?: It’s A Book – Lane Smith

General Technical Excellence and Courageous Pursuit of Gloriousness: Electric Literature

Most Monkey Sex: Bonobo Handshake – Vanessa Woods

Worst Soundtrack: GhostGirl

Most Angelic Angel Falling to Earth: Torment – Lauren Kate

 

 

MobyAwards.com