I have attended the Northern California Book Awards (NCBA) in the past, but always as a spectator or a supporter for my husband’s nominations.  This time, I was myself one of the nominees in fiction for Elegy for a Fabulous World.  The awards ceremony always takes place in the main branch of the San Francisco public library, and it’s attended by hundreds of people.  For each category—and there are seven—all the nominees are invited on stage, while on a background screen are projected the cover and the title of their books.  So, all the nominees in a given category stand on stage, awkwardly smiling for pictures,...