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Nobody is more eager for literary kudos than the e-book community.
And until two weeks ago, many in the e-book community had reason to believe that they would finally get that recognition last Friday, at the Frankfurt Book Fair during the first annual International eBook Awards ceremony. But perhaps more important to an industry that has been laboring in obscurity, the winners would also gain the attention of publishing's major players during its most prestigious international conference, a gathering where the rights to books, often by authors of world renown, are sold. The nominee list set off a wave of fury and corporate conspiracy rumors among the e-literati. It was supposed to be an independent award that Microsoft was just helping to get going. I lost my great expectations.