'Goblinproofing One's Chicken Coop' wins prize for year's oddest book title

LONDON – A supernaturally tinged barnyard manual has won an award for the year's oddest book title.

"Goblinproofing One's Chicken Coop" by Reginald Bakeley was awarded the Diagram Prize on Friday by trade magazine, The Bookseller.

The book took 38 percent of the votes in a public ballot, beating finalists including "How Tea Cosies Changed the World" and "Was Hitler Ill?"

"Goblinproofing" editor Clint Marsh said he and the author were honored to receive a prize that "celebrates the playfulness that is at the heart of much of the world's best book publishing."

The prize was founded in 1978. Its rules say the books must be serious and their titles not merely a gimmick.

Previous winners include "Bombproof Your Horse" and "Managing a Dental Practice: The Genghis Khan Way."