Many authors and aspiring writers dream one day to be named winner of the Booker prize or the Costa award and to be celebrated for their work. However, there is one literary prize that should be valued above all other: the Diagram Prize for Oddest Book title. Though the award brings no money, the winning authors can cling to the celebrated notoriety of joining previous winners such as The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories (the 2003 winner) or Too Naked for the Nazis (last year's winner).
This year's shortlist includes An Ape's View of Human Evolution, the Commuter Pig-Keeper, Nipples on my Knee, Love Your Lady Landscape and Renniks Australian Pre-Decimal & Decimal Coin Errors: The Premier Guide for Australian Pre-Decimal & Decimal Coin Errors.
Nipples on my Knee was nominated by The Gutter Bookshop in Dublin. The bookshop was unavailable for comment, however it tweeted the news saying: "Vote for your #DiagramPrize 'Oddest Book Title of the Year'! NB No pressure, but one of these IS MY NOMINATION!!!
Wld help if I'd read the rules - you vote (I think) by tweeting your favoured hashtag - we're #TeamNipples - obvs... https://t.co/FXVJWwiH9K
— Gutter Bookshop (@gutterbookshop) July 7, 2017
Vote for your #DiagramPrize 'Oddest Book Title of the Year'! NB No pressure, but one of these IS MY NOMINATION!!! https://t.co/FXVJWwiH9K
— Gutter Bookshop (@gutterbookshop) July 7, 2017
According to trade magazine Bookseller, which presents the awards, the Nipples on my Knee authors, Graham and Debra Robertson, invite readers to "sit back in front of the fireplace on a cold, snowy evening, perhaps with a glass of sherry, while we relate to you our experiences from 25 years in the sheep business".
The award was first presented in 1978 by Trevor Bounford and Bruce Robertson, co-founders of publishing solutions firm The Diagram Group. They came up with the idea while trying to alleviate boredom at the annual Frankfurt Book Fair. The inaugural winner was Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice.
Tom Tivnan, the prize co-ordinator said of the nominees "this is a standout year – time and again Diagram voters have shown that they have two favourite areas: animal husbandry and naughtiness." While he praised all the nominated titles, he explained "Nipples on my Knee has got to be an early bookies' favourite, as it combines both animal husbandry and Carry On-esque ribaldry. But, in the 39th year of this award, I can say that odd is, and remains, the new black."
While neither the author or publisher of the winning book receive a monetary prize, whoever nominates the book will be sent “a passable bottle of claret”.
The public can vote for their favourite by tweeting hashtags based on the book titles, #teamnipples to @thebookseller and voting closes on July 21st. Winners will be announced on July 28th. Full details of the nominees can be found at thebookseller.com/diagramprize2017
