'Worm Hunter,' 'Autonomous Robots' vie for Oddest Title Prize

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On February 19, a shortlist was announced for The Bookseller's annual Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year. Online voting is now open to choose the winner, to be announced March 26.

Prize organizer Horace Bent narrowed a record number of submissions - 90 in all, of which 49 were deemed eligible - into a shortlist of six titles.

The shortlist:

David Crompton, Afterthoughts of a Worm Hunter
James A Yannes, Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich
Daina Taimina, Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes
Ronald C Arkin, Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots
Ellen Scherl and Maria Dubinsky, The Changing World of Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Tara Jansen-Meyer, What Kind of Bean is This Chihuahua?

Originally created to provide entertainment at the 1978 Frankfurt Book Fair, the Bookseller/Diagram Prize has since been awarded every year. The 2008 prize was won by Professor Philip M Parker's The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60mg Containers of Fromage Frais.

To vote for a winner, visit www.thebookseller.com.