Quinn wins! Extra kudos for the sticker…

New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn won her second-in-a-row RITA award last Saturday night. She had just finished her acceptance speech when she jumped back to the mic and said, “Oh, and big thanks to my sister for saving my dress with an Autographed by the Author sticker.”

Julia Quinn with her RITA in her MacGyvered-with-stickers dress. Morrow/Avon Editor Lyssa Keusch in background left (in the pretty mint-colored sweater). Photo: Morgan Doremus

Said sister is me.

Here’s what happened: it was a few minutes before she was set to meet her editor (the fabulous Lyssa Keusch) for dinner. JQ was in a lovely dress that fit perfectly, provided (we discovered at the last minute) she didn’t move in one particular direction. Make that move and the snap (which was weak, we discovered at the last minute) unsnapped and part of the dress flapped. It wasn’t a wardrobe malfunction of the indecent sort, but clearly some adhesive was required.

The winning book with the winning sticker. Photo: Deborah Sherman

I grabbed a roll of Autographed by the Author stickers, appropriated two for the cause, and stuck a couple more in her purse to prevent later-in-the-evening emergencies.

So note one more good use for these must-have stickers: they double nicely as in-a-pinch fashion tape, and you are always assured of a makeshift wardrobe repair for your author event, whether it be black tie with awesome shoes and a gold statuette, or jeans at a neighborhood signing.

Every author should always have these stickers on hand.

QED.