Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

I recently had the opportunity to participate as a reviewer for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition. Between February 23 and March 8, I was assigned excerpts from 40 contestant entries to read and give a brief critique. The purpose was to narrow the field from 2,000 entries to 500 for the quarterfinals which are now under way through April 15.

It was an interesting process as the 40 excerpts I read were spread across many genres as well as levels of quality. I read mysteries and thrillers, historical fiction, westerns, young adult, and literary fiction among others. Each excerpt had two reviewers assigned, and these are listed as the "Editorial Reviews" on the book excerpt download page. As of now, I cannot divulge which of the quarterfinal entries have my reviews. However for the ones that are available now, you can be a part of the process. The excerpts are available for free download, and you can post your own review on Amazon. These reader reviews will be the basis for narrowing the field down to 100 entries.

It was tiring to chug through the excerpts in such a short span of time, but there was a nice reward for completing the task. Amazon provided a Kindle 2 to all judges who successfully completed all 40 reviews. I got mine on Monday, and I've posted a review with my first impressions. It's a pretty nice device, but I don't know if I would shell out the $350+ to buy one on my own. People who have iPhones can get an application that essentially gives you an iKindle so there is an alternative. You can see more about the iPhone option on the Kindle 2 page.

Until next time...
PH