Earlier this year, Sheryl Cotleur, currently Copperfield’s Books adult book buyer (she’s worked in the book industry in many facets for about 28 years), was asked to serve as a jurist for the prestigious National Book Awards. Two years ago, the National Book Foundation expanded its judging pools to include literary critics, retired editors, librarians and booksellers; Cotleur is only the second-ever nonauthor to sit on the judging panel for fiction. Winners will be announced in November.
“It’s an amazing honor,” she says. “This is one of the top two literary prizes in the country—the other is the Pulitzer. I’ve judged some smaller book awards in the past, but the pool of eligible books was always much smaller.” National Book Awards are awarded in four categories—fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young people’s literature—and open to all works written by American citizens and released by American publishing houses. Good thing Cotleur is a self-admitted “prolific reader.”
Since the judging process started in April, Cotleur has been in “near constant contact” with her fellow judges, authors Geraldine Brooks, Michael Gorra, Adam Johnson and Lily Tuck. “We have to form a team and agree on criterion that we can then apply against everything we read. We’re looking for a process that’s fair and comfortable; we want to make sure every book gets attention. Right now, as we’re reading, we’re discussing things in a fairly general way. We’re letting the cream rise.”
