The King's English booksellers and Redirect Community present the 2009 Ides of March Madness Charity Book Reading Tournament.
WHAT:
In the spirit of the tournament season (the Nihon Kyukai Grand Sumo contest, the National Council of Teachers of English Poetry Tournament, and everybody else copying the NCAA hoops format), we present to you the first attempt at our very own IDES OF MARCH MADNESS literature tournament.
HOW:
We've made our list of some 16 of the best novels 2008 had to offer. Many of you will take exception to some of the choices (we don't know much, but we do know that). But each work was selected per the specific guidelines of the Ides of March Madness creative credo. We borrowed heavily for the final list from the most reputable sources we could find. Add a few dozen Oreos, a new martini recipe, and some well-utilized coin tosses, and there you have it. The List.
Applying even more stringent requirements, we have solicited a brand new slate of over-qualified judges for the contest. The tournament bracket drawings were posted Sunday, February 1, and the first round judges will be revealed.
In two tournament brackets of eight (four initial matches per side), the books compete head-to-head and the reading judges award a winner in each match to advance to the next round. The final two books will compete for the ultimate prize, The Prize.
Judging criteria are: cover design; ease of read; punctuation; egregious language; sex appeal, and; ease of translation to the big screen. For secondary consideration, the judges will evaluate the lesser literary qualities of substance and form, cultural value, emotion, imagination, descriptive power, and strength of craft. Then they'll just pick what they like.
PARTICIPATION:
***NOTE TO OVERLY BUSY, OVER ACHIEVING TYPE A FOLKS WHO ARE TOO STRUNG OUT ON STARBUCKS TO ACTUALLY READ THE FINE PRINT----->YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ THE BOOKS TO PARTICIPATE!!!!
JUST DONATE.
Tournament enthusiasts are encouraged to "wager" by choosing one book as the tournament winner. Reading along is encouraged but not necessary (see above), and enthusiasts may place additional wagers on individual matches that have not yet been decided and thereby qualify for more prizes.
All participants who meet the minimum wagering requirement of $20 will be eligible for the awards, which include all manner of literary swag.
***NOTE No.2 TO OVERLY BUSY, OVER ACHIEVING
TYPE A FOLKS WHO ARE TOO STRUNG OUT ON STARBUCKS TO ACTUALLY READ THE
FINE PRINT----->TONS OF GREAT PRIZES INCLUDING COPIES OF ALL THE TITLES IN THE TOURNAMENT!
JUST DONATE.
WHY:
Help fund the second year of The Utah Literacy Project, a "non-organizational" cooperative that provides supplemental funding resource for various non-profit literacy programs operating in our fine home state. Intended to function with no staff or overhead, the project aim is to raise a little money through volunteer initiatives to aid local literacy programs. Give us a pledge (wager) and we'll see that the entire amount goes to Book Wagon and is used to buy books for children who otherwise have limited or no opportunities to own one or two of their own.
