Diagram Prize shortlist is announced
18th February 2011
The shortlist for the annual Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year has been announced, with the usual selection of curios included.
Launched in 1978 and run by the Bookseller, the award takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the diverse and wonderful titles released in the last 12 months, with previous winners including Bombproof Your Horse and Versailles: The View From Sweden.
This year's frontrunners include The Generosity of the Dead by Graciela Nowensetin, a title about organ procurement, as well as the romance novel The Italian's One-Night Love-Child by Cathy Williams.
Animal trainer Joel Silverman's What Color is Your Dog? explores canine behavioural techniques, while Myth of the Social Volcano by Martin King Whyte sees the Harvard professor examine the effects of the Sino market experiment.
8th International Friction Stir Welding Symposium Proceedings, a collection of papers from a German conference, and Managing a Dental Practice: The Genghis Khan Way by Michael R. Young complete the shortlist.
A public vote on the Bookseller's website will determine the winning title, which will be announced on March 25th.
Last year's Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year was won by Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes, a mathematics book by Daina Taimina, which was described as 'memorable' by the Bookseller.