When I browse independent bookstores, I love exploring the books more prominently displayed than others. Especially the ones on the shelves—as opposed to the “New” or “Clearance” tables—because they are usually staff favorites and include a personal recommendation of the book.  When I visit chain stores, I purposely don’t pay attention to books at the entrance of the store or that have anything but their spine turned toward me on the shelves. Call me paranoid, but I figure special displays are part of the mega stores’ evil plan to get me to buy books they want to push of the shelves or allow them larger profit margin. I may have to change this attitude now that I’ve discovered B&N’s Discover Great New Writers program. (It’s been around for twenty years, I’m a little slow on discoveries.)

Through this program, publishers recommend writers making a strong literary debut who have fewer than three previously published books, have not received a major literary award, or whose net sales have not yet reached 10, 000 copies. Literary fiction, short story collections, and non-fiction with strong narrative qualify for submission. B&N in-house volunteers read the books and choose 12-22 the titles each season who receive face out displays in the “Discover bay” in each of B&N’s stores for 12 weeks, including an individual “shelf-talker” with a “teaser line.” They also receive major marketing support for things like book group discussions and through the B&N website. Previous year’s selected titles include The Lovely Bones, The Kite Runner, and The Time Traveler’s Wife.

But wait, there’s more! Each year, a panel of previously “discovered” writers picks the winners for the Discover Awards. The 2009 awards were just announced and the first place fiction and nonfiction cash prices of $10 000 went to Victor Lodato’s “haunting debut” novel Mathilda Savitch and Dave Cullen’s “meticulously researched” Colombine. A short-story collection and a cartographic history received the $5000 second place prices, while another novel and a memoir collected $2500 each for third place.

What do you think? Does this promotion of literary writing dilute some of the hatred we so love to feel for non-independent stores?