Just about the time the Pulitzer board announced on April 16 that it wasn’t anointing a fiction prize winner this year, the National Book Foundation came out with its guidelines and list of judges for the 2012 National Book Awards (NBAs). You might think publishers would be wary of forking over another entry fee (the Pulitzer processing fee is $50; the NBAs, $125), especially with all the grousing that goes on among the major trade houses when their titles are shut out by small presses, who in turn grouse that the big houses get more than their share of the nominees. But the NBAs have one major advantage over the Pulitzers: they are selected by writers, not journalists. As for the National Book Critics Circle awards, they are chosen by book critics and review editors—and there is no entry fee for submissions. (LJ‘s Barbara Hoffert is VP in charge of the awards, and LJ‘s review editors are members.)