Dec 27

Dec 27 The Larry Prater Awards

I’ve been running Dead End Follies since 2009. It’s been a tradition to champion year-end favorite books and movies ever since, but since 2021, these have a name: the Larry Prater Awards. What are they? Who is Larry Prater? Glad you asked.

Larry Prater was one of my earliest readers if not the very first who I didn’t already know. I say "was" because he passed away in 2020 after a long and brutal battle with cancer. Larry loved art, sports, good conversation and to challenge himself. I never met him in person, but we had great moments together. Notably watching the 2013 and 2014 NBA finales together via Facebook Mesenger. He was exactly the type of person I aim to reach through Dead End Follies, people who are both book smart and street smart.

I chose a photo of him running to honour his memory because it’s something else that united us. We’re both runners.

When people learn of what I do on Dead End Follies, I often get asked: what should I read next? Well, here is the list of my yearly winners in order to get you started. I do review music here too, but I keep my year-end selections for the Vox & Hops’ Review Crew Yearly Podcast. You’ll have to tune in over there in order to get the goods. If you’re looking for SPECTACULAR books or movies, here are the best of the best. Here are the winners of the Larry Prater Awards. Click on the title to read the original review.

* Larry Prater Award winners were not necessarily released on the year they’ve won, but they were the single best read or viewing of my calendar year *