This week, Melville House Publishing announced the inauguration of the Independent Booksellers Choice Awards — the first award for indie publishing judged by indie booksellers.

Why yet another book award ? Because independent booksellers are the cognoscenti, who are hooked-in to the literary zeitgeist. They are the ones who can guide readers to the overlooked or unkown hidden gems. No Amazon algorithm suggestion can compete with the recommendation from local booksellers who actually read the books.

There are already enough book awards judged by critics, by committees or from newspapers — it’s time to hear from real readers. Hopefully, the Independent Booksellers Choice Award will be the ultimate “staff picks”.

Visit the award website to learn more and to help name the award. I suggested the Savvy.