THE IMPORTANCE OF A COMPETENT INDEX CANNOT BE OVERSTATED

A couple of years back when I was involved in the judging of the Montana New Zealand Book Awards the three judges were appalled at the total absence of indices from several of the submitted non-fiction titles.

I received this e-mail from Alan Eddy today and am pleased to post it on my blog in the hope it might encourage publishers and authors to pay more attention to this most important element of a book.

The Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers' Medal is awarded annually for the most outstanding index to a book or periodical compiled in Australia or New Zealand. The index must be in print and must have been published within the past three years (i.e. 2005-2007). It must have been compiled in Australia or New Zealand, even though the text to which it refers may have originated elsewhere. The index should be substantial in size; the subject matter should be complex; and the language, form and structure of the index should demonstrate the indexer's expertise, as well as serving the needs of the text and reader. The publisher of the winning index will be presented with a certificate recognising their promotion of work of outstanding quality. The judges may also make 'highly commended' awards.

Nominations, with bibliographical details and a copy of the book (which will be returned if requested) should be sent to the Returning Officer. Publishers, indexers and all interested people may nominate indexes, and indexers may nominate their own work.

Dates
Entries open mid-April and close on July 6, 2007. The presentation of awards will be made at the annual meeting in October.

Entry form
An entry form is available from the Returning Officer.

Contact
Alan Eddy, Returning Officer, Awards
PO Box 5062
Glenferrie South
Vic 3122 ,
Australia

Tel (03) 9853 0991 Email aeddy@surf.net.au