The American Booksellers Association has announced the finalists for the 2003 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards. The finalists in six categories -- Adult Fiction, Adult Nonfiction, Children's Literature, Children's Illustrated, Rediscovery, and Paperback -- are all Book Sense 76 titles nominated by ABA bookseller members as their handselling favorites. The awards will be announced at the Celebration of Bookselling, on Friday, May 30, during this year's BookExpo America, at the Los Angeles Convention Center in California.

Book Sense Book of the Year ballots will be sent to all ABA bookstore members at the end of March. The tabulation of votes will be handled by KPMG, and the results will be kept secret until the May 30 event.

The finalists, listed in alphabetical order by title in each category, are:

Adult Fiction	Atonement, by Ian McEwan, Nan Talese/Doubleday The Crimson Petal and the White, by Michel Faber, Harcourt Life of Pi , by Yann Martel, Harcourt The Lovely Bones: A Novel , by Alice Sebold, Little, Brown The Secret Life of Bees , by Sue Monk Kidd, Viking
Adult Nonfiction	Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where... , by Tony Horwitz, Holt Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An... , by Alexandra Fuller, Random House My Losing Season , by Pat Conroy, Doubleday Population, 485: Meeting Your Neighbors... , by Michael Perry, HarperCollins Running with Scissors , by Augusten Burroughs, St. Martin's
Children's Literature	The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl) , by Eoin Colfer, Hyperion Coraline , by Neil Gaiman, HarperCollins Hoot , by Carl Hiaasen, Knopf Summerland , by Michael Chabon, Miramax The Thief Lord , by Cornelia Funke, Chicken House/Scholastic
Children's Illustrated	Dear Mrs. La Rue: Letters From Obedience... , by Mark Teague, Scholastic Giggle, Giggle, Quack , by Doreen Cronin; illustrated by Betsy Lewin, Simon & Schuster The Three Questions, by Jon J. Muth, Scholastic The Spider and the Fly , by Mary Howitt; illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi, Simon & Schuster Toot & Puddle: Top of the World , by Holly Hobbie, Little, Brown
Rediscovery	Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade , by Patrick Dennis, Broadway The Children of Green Knowe , by L. M. Boston, Odyssey/Harcourt The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys , by Chris Fuhrman, University of Georgia Press Paper Moon , by Joe David Brown, Four Walls Eight Windows The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake , by Breece D'J Pancake, Back Bay
Paperback	Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress , by Sijie Dai, Anchor Bel Canto: A Novel , by Ann Patchett, Perennial The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint: A Novel , by Brady Udall, Vintage The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency , by Alexander McCall Smith, Anchor Year of Wonders , by Geraldine Brooks, Penguin

Commenting on the finalists, ABA President Ann Christophersen said, "This diverse list reflects how Book Sense has continued to grow and gain momentum over the past four years. Now that we have expanded to six categories, this gives us the opportunity to honor even more of the thousands of titles that independent booksellers handsell each day. And, as we enter the next stage of voting to select one book in each category, I think that each one of these books is worthy of being named the Book Sense Book of the Year and deserves the public's attention."

The Book Sense Book of the Year Awards, inaugurated in 2000, have become a much anticipated component of the Book Sense program and have grown from two awards to this year's six. In 2000, the Book Sense Book of the Year Awards were presented in an Adult and a Children's category. In 2001, these categories were split into Adult Fiction, Adult Nonfiction, Children's Illustrated, and Children's Literature. The Rediscovery award, added in 2002, is drawn from a mix of adult and children's backlist or recently reissued books that made the year's Book Sense 76 lists. This year, reflecting the increasing significance of the Book Sense program and independents' role in supporting books of quality, the Paperback award was added. The Paperback category is open to both fiction and nonfiction titles.

All current ABA member bookstores can vote for the Book Sense Book of the Year. The remaining four finalists in each category will be awarded the title of Book Sense Honor Book. All nominated authors and illustrators will be invited to attend the award ceremonies and the Book Sense 76 Lunch, also to be held on Friday, May 30, at BEA.

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