OLIVER TWIST

From the Crime Writers Association website:

In the light of ever-rising expenses regarding the operation of the Crime Writers' Association annual Dagger Awards, the CWA has had to make an important change to the rules regarding entries. With effect from this judging year (2006-2007), it will be a condition of entry that all publishers whose books appear on any of the Dagger shortlists agree to pay a contribution towards the CWA's costs of running the awards – the judging process, publicity and promotion, and in particular organising the Awards Dinner.
This step will bring our awards into line with similar rules for other literary awards – which in some cases charge considerably more. The cost of organising the Dagger Awards currently costs the CWA several thousand pounds, an outlay which we are finding increasingly difficult to meet. The income generated by these charges will not cover the full costs of the Dagger Awards, and the CWA will pay the remainder. While publishers and authors can clearly benefit from being shortlisted for – and particularly winning – one of our Daggers, the CWA gains no benefit. We cannot expect any of our sponsors to help with these expenses.

Isn't that what sponsorship is about?

I never realised that publishers had to pay when their books are short listed for awards. I thought the sponsors covered the cost of the award dinners and the whole jamboree.

It just shows how naive I am, and obviously the monetary size of an award gets a lot more publicity for the sponsor than paying for the "cheaper chicken" dinner.

"Qu'ils mangent de la brioche"