The Philosopher Fish wins oddest book title prize | Oddest book title prize

The Philosopher Fish: Sturgeon, Caviar, and the Geography of Desire has been crowned the winner of the Diagram prize for the oddest book title of the year.

The book, by Richard Adams Carey, traces how the caviar industry has changed. In a public vote on the shortlisted titles, The Philosopher Fish won 27%, representing the narrowest winning margin in the history of the prize, which is administered by the Bookseller.

Coming in a close second was How to Dungeon Master Parenting: A Guidebook for Gamifying the Child-Rearing Quest, Leveling Up Your Skills, and Raising Future Adventurers by Shelly Mazzanoble, with 24% of the vote.

In third place, with 22%, was Looking through the Speculum: Examining the Women’s Health Movement by Judith A Houck. Killing the Buddha on the Appalachian Trail: Walking On through Self-Doubt and Aging by John Turner, illustrated by Liliana Vittini, was fourth, receiving 14% of the vote.

At 8% was Boston’s Oldest Buildings and Where to Find Them by Joseph M Bagley. Hell-Bent for Leather: Sex and Sexuality in the Weird Western, edited by Kerry Fine, Michael K Johnson, Rebecca M Lush and Sara L Spurgeon, received the lowest vote share with 5%.

All six titles on the shortlist are published by university presses; Massachusetts-based Brandeis University Press publishes both The Philosopher Fish and Boston’s Oldest Buildings and Where to Find Them.

The Philosopher Fish was first published in 2005, but the 2024 edition contains enough new material that it was deemed eligible for inclusion in this year’s prize. A new epilogue details the current state of wild stocks of sturgeon, the fish from which caviar is harvested.

“In my nearly decade overseeing this august literary prize, I’ve never seen such deep divisions in the Diagram prize electorate,” said Tom Tivnan, managing editor of the Bookseller. “But The Philosopher Fish has a chance to heal those wounds with its classic odd title blend of peculiarity and pomposity. A delicious, if rather salty and overpriced, winner.”

The prize does not come with an award for the winning author or publisher, but usually the nominator of the winning title is given a bottle of wine. However, since this year the nominator was a Bookseller staff member, the bottle will be saved for next year. The trade magazine invites nominations for the 2025 prize.

The prize was first awarded in 1978. Recent winning titles include Is Superman Circumcised?, Dirt Hole Variations, The Joy of Waterboiling and The Commuter Pig Keeper. In 2023, Danger Sound Klaxon!: The Horn That Changed History by Matthew F Jordan was named the winner.