Where’s Travel?

The print media have been hyping a new literary awards show in the works called The Quills, which will be televised by NBC this fall in a “star-studded ceremony.” According to organizers, the so-called “reading public” will vote for their favorite books in 15 categories, including mystery, romance, science, health, sports and business. Some hope the awards will bring a sense of glamour and populism to the books business that other literary awards have failed to accomplish. Great, I thought as I read about this. Perhaps travel lit might even capture the spotlight for a brief moment. Unfortunately, travel is nowhere to be seen on the list of categories.  I suppose there’s a chance a travel narrative could be honored in the “biography/memoir” category, but I doubt it. On the popularity scale, a book like Paul Theroux’s “Dark Star Safari” can’t compete against Bill Clinton’s “My Life,” or any one of the other countless celebrity memoirs or biographies published each year. Of course, it’s not the end of the world. But it is a missed opportunity.

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