Booker, Pulitzer, Goncourt, Hugo, Guardian, Goethe…
Sound familiar?
These are definitely not names of dishes; and neither characters from a novel or movie.
Every writer or poet dreams of being recognised and appreciated for his/her work and these are some of the most coveted prizes in the literary field. There are thousands of prizes given out across the world for different categories and numerous writers every year, hope to win the titles.
It is very difficult to enlist the various prizes as they are divided according to country, language and literary form. Some are for fiction while some for poetry. Certain are presented to amateurs whereas some are reserved for female writers.
Here is a list of 20 prestigious literary prizes …(possible incentive for readers to turn into writers!)
Nobel Prize in Literature
Almost everyone has heard of this one every year. Since 1901, it has been awarded annually to the best authors from all around the world for outstanding contribution to literature.
International IMPAC Dublin Award
This is another annual prize open to writers from every country whose work has been published in English or English translation.
Man Booker International Prize
Commonly known as the Booker Prize, this award is open to fiction writers from across the world. It is awarded every year to a writer for his/her novel published in the English language.
Hugo Award
Presented by the World Science Fiction Society, the Hugo Awards are a set of awards given to writers of science fiction or fantasy and there are numerous categories, some of which include Best Novel, Best Graphic Story and Best Fan Writer.
Guardian First Book Award
Established in 1999 and presented by The Guardian newspaper, The Guardian First Book Award was given for debut works of fiction and non-fiction. But this was discontinued after the last award being given in 2015.
The Women’s Prize for Fiction
Formerly known as the Orange Prize, the Women’s Prize for Fiction was awarded annually from 2006-2010 for a novel written in English by a woman of any nationality. It has unfortunately been discontinued thereafter.
The Dylan Thomas Prize
This award is aimed specifically at young authors. It is presented for the best published literary work written in English, to an author under 30 years of age.
The Walter Scott Historical Prize
This is one of the most prestigious accolades for writers of historical fiction.
Franz Kafka Prize
The Franz Kafka Prize is an international literary award presented in honour of Franz Kafka, the German language novelist.
Goethe Prize
The Goethe Prize of the City of Frankfurt is an award for achievement ‘worthy of honour in memory of Johann Wolfgang Goethe’. It was usually an annual award until 1955, and thereafter has been triennial.
International Botev Prize
The International Botev Prize is a prestigious Bulgarian award, presented to individuals with significant accomplishments in the field of literature. The award is presented in different categories every 5 years
Man Asian Literary Prize
As the name suggests, this award is presented to writers from one of select Asian countries for their work published in English or translated into English.
Commonwealth Writers’ Prize
Another geographically restricted award, this prize is open to fiction writers from any of the British Commonwealth countries.
Pulitzer
This US award is given to those in newspaper or online journalism, literature, or music. There are 21 categories including the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing, the Pulitzer Prize for Music and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Neustadt International prize for Literature
This American award occurs every two years and is considered one of the most prestigious awards in literature, also referred to as the American Nobel. It is awarded to an author for his/her entire body of work.
National Book Award
The National Book Award is another coveted literature prize in the US, with four categories available – fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and young people’s literature, as well as two lifetime awards.
Costa Book Awards
Given to authors in Great Britain and Ireland, there are five winners annually in the following categories – best novel, best first novel, children’s book, poetry and biography. One of the winners is awarded the Costa Book of the Year title.
Miguel de Cervantes Prize
An award restricted by language, the Miguel de Cervantes Prize is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language.
Grand Prix Littéraire d’Afrique Noire
The Grand Prix Littéraire d’Afrique Noire (Major literary prize of Black Africa) is a literary prize presented every year by the ADELF, the Association of French Language Writers for a French original text from Sub-Saharan Africa.
Prix Goncourt
The Prix Goncourt is a prize in French literature, given by the Académie Goncourt to the author of the best and most imaginative prose work of the year.
Four other prizes are also awarded: Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman (first novel), Prix Goncourt de la Nouvelle (short story), Prix Goncourt de la Poésie (poetry) and Prix Goncourt de la Biographie (biography).
The Devil all the Time adaptation coming to Netflix
