National Book Awards

So we have interns. And by "have," I mean, "couldn't survive without." In addition to all the work they do, they are also lovely, fun people who help make this a very happy place to come to everyday. And, of course, they love publishing.

Today, I am introducing you to Intern Rick.

Rick, blog readers. Blog readers, Rick. In the picture above, Rick is on the right. Which I feel should be obvious since he is the only guy in that picture, but just in case you thought I had slapped a picture of random strangers we don't know onto the blog, I thought I should tell you.

Actually, you might remember Rick from that time he and Joanna were almost hauled off by a tornado.

There are no tornadoes in today's post. This is about something less Well-hey-I-wonder-where-I'm-going-to-live-tonight, and more actually fun.

The National Book Awards held their annual extravaganza this Wednesday. Although Rick couldn’t attend the actual awards ceremony, he did get to go to the NBA House Party, hosted by the Young to Publishing Group at Random House. About 150 people showed up for the drinks, the prizes, and the auction to support Literary Partners.

You can click here to see all the NBA finalists and winners.

Pictures from the House Party can be viewed thanks to Pixable.com

And now...

Rick's Rundown:

1. I was one of the few to receive a special story card that I could turn in for a prize if I found a gal with the matching card. While searching, I met a lot of people, including another guy with the same card as mine! Desperately competing against each other, we never found the girl, but we got prizes anyway. Mine was a pocket square from Robert Redd, while his was a cap. He wanted to trade. I did not.

2. They served mini-hamburgers with fries. They went fast.

3. I got a free Square. Featured in Time's 50 best inventions of 2010, it hooks into your iphone and reads credit cards so you can process payments on the street or from your friends. The future is now!

4. Many generous individuals bought tickets for the auction for Literacy Partners. Prizes included a Staycation and meeting Arianna Huffington.

5. We had a live feed of the NBA awards, which was cool. I had been really excited about the YA category, but somehow I missed it. I'm glad that Mockingbird won, even though I was rooting for Ship Breaker.

6. They had a DJ and a dancefloor, but practically no one danced.

7. Like all young publishing get-togethers, there were a lot more women than guys. I’m not complaining.