Six books compete for the prize of Oddest Book Title of the Year

The Bookseller magazine will be giving out the award for the thirty-fifth year in a row, with competitors including 'Goblinproofing One's Chicken Coop' and 'How To Sharpen Pencils.'

Authors can agonize for hours over the perfect title with which to anoint their novel or nonfiction work, aiming for drama, emotional resonance, or sometimes humor. And sometimes their efforts can bear unusual fruit, as they did for six authors whose book names are currently competing for the award of Oddest Title of the Year.  

The award, called The Diagram Prize, is given out by the magazine The Bookseller, which writes about matters in the publishing industry. The contest is in its 35^th year.

Some of the nominees for the prize include the book “Goblinproofing One’s Chicken Coop” by Reginald Bakeley, “How Tea Cosies Changed the World” by Loani Prior, and “How To Sharpen Pencils” by David Rees.

The top title is selected by the public online at http://www.welovethisbook.com. The winning author will be announced March 22.

Philip Stone, who coordinates the prize for The Bookseller, said he hopes the contest will shine a spotlight on works that otherwise may have gone unnoticed. 

“People might think this prize is just a bit of fun, but I think it draws welcome attention to an undervalued art,” he told the Telegraph.