Sorry for the lack of posts – my health has been on the wrong side of average far more often than I would like lately…
I was just having a nose around online, and came across a jokey little post about why there should be a big, hyped-up awards ceremony for books, like there are for films and music (The Oscars, the Academy Awards, etc.). I mean, of course, there are prestigious awards such as the Booker, Orange shortlist, etc., but none which actually focus on the characters and storylines instead of the authors. Don’t get me wrong – there can never be enough credit for the authors! – but I found the idea of an awards ceremony for our favourite books, characters, etc. really quite charming.
So, I’ve posted each category they came up with, along with a couple of others I came up with myself. I’d be really interested to hear your own ideas – feel free to post on your own blog, or propose ideas in the comments section below. No restrictions – feel free to include graphic novels, foreign literature, whatever you like!
Best Male Character
Winston Smith, from 1984 – George Orwell
Atticus Finch, from To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Albus Dumbledore, from the Harry Potter series – J.K. Rowling
Harry Paget Flashman, from Flashman – George Macdonald Fraser
Achmed the Mad, from the Discworld series – Terry Prachett
Sherlock Holmes, from various novels – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Phillip Marlowe, from various novels – Raymond Chandler
Best Female Character
Major Motoko Kusanagi, from the Ghost in the Shell – by Masamune Shirow
Katniss Everdeen, from The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
Arya Stark, from the Game of Thrones series – George R.R. Martin
Lyra Belacqua, from the His Dark Materials trilogy – Phillip Pullman
Lisbeth Salander, from the Millennium trilogy – Stieg Larsson
Best Antagonist and/or Villain
Patrick Bateman, from American Psycho – Bret Easton Ellis
Randall Flagg, from various novels – Stephen King
The Cheshire Cat, from Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
Tom Ripley, from The Talented Mr Ripley – Patricia Highsmith
Hannibal Lecter, from various books – Thomas Harris
Most Impressive New/Future/Past World
Oryx and Crake – Margaret Atwood
EON – Greg Bear
Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
1984 – George Orwell
Wittiest Dialogue
Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
Vox – Nicholson Baker
‘They’re Made out of Meat’ – Terry Bisson
What other awards do you think should be included? What about:
Best Plot Twist?
Best Sequel?
Book Thrown Across the Room the Hardest?
Book Most Likely to be Locked in the Freezer for Being Too Scary?
J.M. Weselby @ Magpie Creative Writing Services 