You might recall that, a little while back, our own Nina Samii-Frye reviewed the memoir Onward & Upward: Reflections of a Joyful Life. The book, written by a gentleman from the C-U area about his years as a filmmaker and traveler, didn’t exactly add to Nina’s joyful life. Fair enough. You’re welcome, by the way, to read the book and decide for yourself whether you agree or disagree. Opinions are like nipples; some more functional and/or nourishing than others.
It was brought to my attention (as Nina’s editor and designated traffic cop of all things Arts here at SP) that the book’s author, Michael Wiese, contacted Nina via Facebook with the following message:
Thank you for taking the time to review my book ONWARD & UPWARD. It’s our only bad review! Thanks for providing some balance.
Onward,
Michael Wiese
PS. The book just won the GOLD AWARD from Mom’s CHOICE
First of all, it’s always nice to hear from the people we review, especially when we’ve been invited to do so. And kudos on all those positive reviews! But the post-script struck me as a bit… smirky. Maybe it was the capitalization. Couldn’t say for sure. And, as I had never heard of Mom’s CHOICE before (that capital-letter thing is growing on me), I decided to look it up for MYSELF.
What I discovered was that, there is indeed an organization by that name, and they certainly do award various publications and products with their seal of approval. And for $300, they’ll think about awarding yours, too. There are other considerations, of course, and they have standards that must be met in order for a book (or any other product) to receive their honor, but mostly it’s gonna cost three bills.
However, if you’re strapped for the cash and really need that extra Mom’s CHOICE push, I’m pretty sure you could always go directly to this link and just buy 250 of the larger-sized GOLD AWARD seals for $50. (No guarantees, but I had no trouble creating a buyer account with them and getting as far as the “submit order” before I thought better of it. $50 to prove a point is a little above my pay grade, especially since there are no refunds, only store credit.)
Which is not to say that there is anything disreputable or otherwise underhanded about asking people to pay $300 to be considered for an award. I’m pretty sure that’s how the Pulitzers work. I can check on that.