In a move that gives increasing credibility to the electronic book format, the James Beard Foundation Awards -- also known as the Oscars of the US food world -- announced that for the first time next year, e-books will be given equal consideration and accepted in the same category as print.
The James Beard Foundation Awards will be accepting ebooks as entries next year. ©Reinhold Foeger/shutterstock.com
It’s a belated move that follows in the heels of other major food journalism and cookbook competitions which have also changed their eligibility requirements in recognition of the growing popularity of apps, blogs and virtual books among home cooks and gourmands alike.
The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, for instance, added an apps category last year, while the International Association of Culinary Journalists also added a food blog category to their awards.
“Electronic publishing is developing rapidly and it's bound to attract creative, thoughtful writers and publishers,” said Matt Sartwell, head of the Book Committee in a statement. “We want to hear from them in the same way that we've been hearing from the best authors of printed books over the last three decades.”
The Restaurant Design category will also see changes next year, with awards split into two for addresses with 76 seats or more, and eateries with 75 seats or less.
Chefs from Puerto Rico will be eligible to enter the “Best Chef South” category, while Nevada will join California and Hawaii to form the newly named “Best Chef West” category.
The winners will be announced next May 3 and 6.