Reprint of the Year Award 2023: The Launch

It is the first Saturday of December, so it is time to launch the 5th Reprint of the Year award, before I dash off to put up my Christmas tree. If you’re new to all of this, here is a quick recap…

During the planning stages of the ROY, I put a list together of vintage mysteries which have been reprinted this year. This list is an aid for participating bloggers to choose from, as over the next two weeks, the bloggers listed below will be canvassing for your precious votes for their chosen reads. In 2022 there were over 160 titles in that list – who would think there would be a time when so many classic crime titles would get reprinted in a single year? The numbers are a little lower this year, with the total sitting at around 115 reprints. I aim to post this as a list on my blog, as this was something readers found useful last year. Moreover, readers will also be able to add in the comments to that post any titles I have missed (as there are always some!).

With so many novels and short story collections on offer, it can be hard to pick out the very best, which is where the Reprint of the Year Awards come in. Below are the key dates for each stage of the awards.

As in previous years the awards will unfold in four stages…

9^th December

Next Saturday me and 9 other bloggers…

Bev – My Reader’s Block

Brad – Ah Sweet Mystery Blog

Hayley – Desperate Reader

Janet – From First Page to Last

John – Countdown John’s Christie Journal

Karen – Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings

Moira – Clothes in Books

Puzzle Doctor – In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel

Rick – The Mystillery Blog

… will begin by sharing our first nomination for the award, putting forward our reasons for why you should vote for our nominee. This title has to be a reprint published this year and not a title released for the first time.

Behind the Scenes: Book bloggers calmly sorting out which titles they are going to nominate.

I will be posting later, on this day and on the 16^th, as I will be gathering in links to everyone else’s nominations, so you can track them all down more easily.

16^th December

On the following Saturday we will reveal our second choices.

18th December

I will set up a poll for this award, listing the 20 titles my fellow bloggers and I have chosen, as well as 3 readers’ choices (more on that later). At this stage you will then be able to vote for your favoured titles.

30^th December

As the year draws to a close, I will reveal the results of the poll, announcing the title which has won the accolade of Reprint of the Year!

If you’ve been reading carefully, you will have noticed that I have mentioned that the poll will include 3 nominations which are chosen by my blog readers. So if there is a mystery reprint which has been released this year (paperback, e-Book, audio), which you’ve loved put it in the comments section below this post. Only submit your nominations to this post, not to any subsequent ROY posts. If someone has already mentioned a title you love, then please do still second it or repeat it, as I will be selecting the 3 readers choices using a random name generator. Yet if a title has more than one recommendation, (from different people of course), then they will get extra entries added to the generator.

Make sure you submit your nominations before the 18th!

Important: When adding a nomination in the comments below, it would be really helpful if you could, in brackets, include the name of the publisher who reprinted them. If you’re at all unsure about whether a title is eligible feel free to check.

Like in 2022, both Christianna Brand and John Dickson Carr have had books reprinted this year and I am particularly interested in seeing how Carr’s He Who Whispers fares, as I know it is a popular one. However, as past ROY awards have shown, nothing is certain, and first place is never guaranteed for the presumed favourite to win. Each title must fight to the very last vote and there is always the chance of a long shot romping home to victory.

Hopefully the Reprint of the Year Awards won’t actually involve any literal boxing!

So make sure you vote when the time comes and if possible please share this post on social media, so more people can hear about it and get involved if they want to. Each year the number of people voting has always increased, so it would be lovely to keep that trend growing. Any questions or queries let me know and of course may the best book win!