Awkward Author Photo Contest: Let The Judging Begin

I received over 40 entries for the Awkward Author Photo Contest.

Well-done, everyone. Well-done.

*thunderous applause*

Here, then, are those photos.

You will find a couple famous-faced authors in there, including Jeff VanderMeer, Alethea Kontis, James Sutter, and Yvonne Navarro. Those cheeky little penmonkeys.

Your job, if you choose to accept it, is to go through these photos, find your ONE TRUE FAVORITE, and then go into the comments below and put down the corresponding number. Write only the number, if you please. I need the number to be plainly visible and easy to tally.

You have a week to vote — vote by 12/27, noon EST.

At that point, I’ll note the top four vote-getters, and those people will get a copy of THUNDERBIRD apiece. And they’ll also earn our neverending love. In a diabolical pact.

In the meantime, I’m going to pick my favorite right here and right now.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE:

Huzzah! Congratulations, Jo Anderson. (She has her own Flickr account here.) I chose it because literally every time I look at it I break out into laughter. It’s just so glorious weird. What did that banana do to deserve such dubious scorn? Are the other fruits complicit? Why would this ever be an author photo? IT IS SUBLIME.

So, congratulations!

Which means, voters —

Do not vote for this one. (I’ve tagged it with no number so you know.)

Congrats to Jo, and to the rest of you:

Get to the voting booth below.

*insert some coy reference to the electoral college*