"People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead" by Gary Leon Hill (Weiser Books, 2005)wins The Bookseller/Diagram Prize for oddest title of the year.

Newburyport, MA (PRWEB), March 5, 2006 –- Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC is pleased to announce that UK magazine, The Bookseller, has named "People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It" by Gary Leon Hill (Weiser Books, 2005) as the Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year.

Joel Rickett, deputy editor of The Bookseller said, “This was the fiercest fight that we have ever seen in The Bookseller/Diagram Prize. In the end it came down to just two votes. But People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead is a deserving winner: a lively practical guide to dealing with the undead. Its triumph draws attention to the oft-neglected field of occult and paranormal publishing.”

Michael Kerber, president of Red Wheel/Weiser said, “Imagine our delight when hearing that we won a prestigious British publishing award. Certainly The Diagram Prize must be only third to the Booker and the Whitbread. In Weiser's near 50-year history I don't believe that we've received such an accolade.”

Kerber went on to say, “Though the title may be odd, 'People Who Don't Know They're Dead' is actually quite a serious book about the paranormal. It is written by award-winning playwright Gary Leon Hill, and tells the story of how his Uncle Wally and Aunt Ruth came to counsel dead spirits who had taken up residence in bodies that didn't belong to them. Gary weaves their fascinating story with the history and theory of what happens at death, with particular emphasis on the last 40 years and the work of various groundbreaking thinkers whose work helps inform our idea of what it is to live and to die. Being dead, he writes, is so much like being alive that many people who die suddenly or violently don't know they're dead. In many ways this book examines the theory, research, and practice that informs such television shows as Ghost Whisperer and such movies as The Sixth Sense.”