Two contests are turning literature into more than just a spectator sport:
Breakthrough Novel Award
Monday is the last day to vote in amazon.com’s Breakthrough Novel competition. Chicago resident Dwight Okita, a 49-year-old office manager, is among the 10 finalists — chosen by publishing industry veterans from some 5,000 entrants. The winning novel will be announced April 7.
“I write a lot on the bus,” said Okita, who lives in Uptown and works in the West Loop. “Mornings are really good for me. That’s the most fertile time.”
His novel, “The Prospect of My Arrival,” was written in longhand over an 18-month period, he said. It’s a sci-fi tale about a man who must decide whether he wants to be born into the world.
To read excerpts from Okita’s novel or the other nine, and to cast your vote, visit amazon.com/abna.
StoryTubes 2008
If you’re a kid and you love to read, the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin wants you. Several libraries and publishers across the country are sponsoring StoryTubes 2008. It’s a national contest designed to get kids energized about reading. The prizes? Free books, of course.
Starting Tuesday, kids in 1st through 6th grades can create two-minute videos about their favorite books; send them to youtube.com; and then follow the links at storytubes.info. There’s a contest entry form available at: storytubes.info/entry(underscore)form.html . Winners will be announced each week through April. The contest closes May 1.
The Gail Borden Library first tried such a contest on its own last year, said Denise Raleigh, marketing and communications director. “We thought we’d get 15 entries. We got 50! And they’ve been viewed on YouTube more than 40,000 times.”
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IN THE WEB EDITION
Check out our new listing of 2008 Tribune book reviews at chicagotribune.com/books.
Read new reviews of these books at the same Web site:
“Safire’s Political Dictionary,” by William Safire
“Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization,” by Nicholson Baker
“Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories,” by Tobias Wolff
“The Echo From Dealey Plaza,” by Abraham Bolden
“Dangerous Laughter,” by Steven Millhauser
“The Waitress Was New,” by Dominique Fabre
Plus a roundup of books for teen readers.
