It’s the nightmare scenario for any awards program, and Sunday night at the Academy Awards, it came true: An envelope mix-up led Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway to announce that "La La Land" had won best picture, instead of the actual winner, "Moonlight."
It was the biggest blunder in the history of the Oscars. But the show’s producers can take some comfort: It’s happened to literary awards, too.
In 2011, the finalists for the National Book Awards were announced on a radio broadcast. Among the five nominees in the Young People’s Literature category was "Shine," a mystery novel by Lauren Myracle about the near-fatal beating of a gay teenage boy in North Carolina.
Unfortunately, Myracle hadn’t actually made the shortlist. A National Book Foundation employee misheard the title of the book in a telephone conversation: The actual finalist was "Chime," a novel about a young witch, written by Franny Bilingsley.
The horrified National Book Foundation initially decided there would be six finalists in the category that year, including "Shine." Later they asked Myracle to voluntarily withdraw her book from the shortlist, which she did.
The prize ended up going to “Inside Out & Back Again,” Thanhha Lai’s novel about a young refugee from Vietnam.
A similar situation unfolded in the United Kingdom in 2008, when Welsh Culture Minister Rhodri Glyn Thomas announced at a ceremony that Tom Bullough’s novel “The Claude Glass” had won the Wales Book of the Year.
It had not. Thomas misread the card with the winner’s name, only correcting himself when Bullough was about to step onto the stage to collect his award.
The actual winner of the prize was Dannie Abse for his memoir “The Presence.”
Bullough wasn’t amused by the mix-up."I am truly not somebody given to complaining, but that was cruel," he wrote on his blog. "It was cruel because it was shoddy. It cannot be put down simply to accident. As one person said to me last night, it wouldn’t have happened at the Oscars."
Or so one would think.
In cafes and bars, skate shops and co-working spaces, books are popping up everywhere in Los Angeles — and as more than just decor.
In cafes and bars, skate shops and co-working spaces, books are popping up everywhere in Los Angeles — and as more than just decor.
In cafes and bars, skate shops and co-working spaces, books are popping up everywhere in Los Angeles — and as more than just decor.
In cafes and bars, skate shops and co-working spaces, books are popping up everywhere in Los Angeles — and as more than just decor.
Jade Chang’s debut novel, "The Wangs Vs. The World," hit bestseller lists last fall. We catch up with the Angeleno to find out how her life has changed.
Jade Chang’s debut novel, “The Wangs Vs. The World,” hit bestseller lists last fall. We catch up with the Angeleno to find out how her life has changed.
Deyan Audio Services brings audiobooks to life in the Valley with help of ace actors, narrators.
Deyan Audio Services brings audiobooks to life in the Valley with help of ace actors, narrators.
Children’s author Jon Klassen talks about the creative process when it comes to words and pictures for kids at his studio in downtown L.A.
Children’s author Jon Klassen talks about the creative process when it comes to words and pictures for kids at his studio in downtown L.A.
Los Angeles Poet Laureate Luis J. Rodriguez reads an excerpt of his poem "A Love Poem to Los Angeles" on the Patt Morrison Asks podcast.
Los Angeles Poet Laureate Luis J. Rodriguez reads an excerpt of his poem “A Love Poem to Los Angeles” on the Patt Morrison Asks podcast.
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