reported by Jim Delaney, FictionFanatic.com

A literary tribute to greasy spoon diners is among the works short-listed for a new global literary prize honoring a new kind of book -- a blook, or a book based on a blog or web site.

"Eggs, Bacons, Chips And Beans," by Russell Davies, a U.S.-based Brit, has edged out an anthology of Iranian blog-postings and a sci-fi novel by a Canadian called Cheeseburger Brown to make the short-list of the first "Lulu Blooker Prize" ( http://www.lulublookerprize.com ), which is announced today.

Other blooks to make the short-list include "Julie and Julia," Julie Powell's chronicle of extreme cooking in a New York apartment kitchen, and "Belle du Jour," based on the blog of a London call-girl. American "blauthors" (authors of blooks) dominate the short-list, followed by Canadians and Brits, but entries also came from Africa, India, Australia, Mexico, France, Spain and the Netherlands. All contain writing that began life online.

The Blooker -- whose name is an affectionate nod to another well-known literary prize -- is the world's first contest to honor "blooks," a new, hybrid literary form at the intersection of literature and technology. "Blooks are the hottest new publishing and online trend," says Bob Young, CEO of Lulu ( http://www.lulu.com ) the prize's sponsor.

Lulu, which lets anyone publish either a book or blook at no up-front cost, launched the Blooker last October to mark the 450th anniversary of Gutenberg's invention of moveable type in 1455, another landmark in the history of books.

Entries for the Blooker fall into one of three categories: fiction, nonfiction, or webcomics. A total of 89 blooks, by authors from over a dozen countries, made the contest "long-list."

Cory Doctorow, an author, speaker, activist and blogger, chairs a panel of three prominent Internet figures judging the 16 short-listed blooks. The others are Robin Miller, editor-in-chief of Slashdot ( http://www.slashdot.org ), and Paul Jones, director of iBiblio ( http://www.ibiblio.org ) - a large, contributor-run digital library.

The prize's winners are announced April 6. For more information on the Blooker Prize, including the short-list in full, see http://www.lulublookerprize.com