For authors, literary awards are a great way of reaching out to the media, booksellers and agents. They are also a good way of introducing your latest book to the masses. There are, literally, hundreds of different books award ceremonies taking place around the world every year.
Some are open to authors from all around the world and some concentrate on a country-s home grown talent. Awards can be categorized by language, country, region or genre. But for now we’ll introduce the top international awards for literature.
Neustadt International Prize for Literature
This is an award that takes place every two years and is sponsored by the University of Oklahoma. It is considered to be a very prestigious award, often compared with the Nobel Prize for Literature. So much so that it is often referred to as the American Nobel. Much the same as the Nobel Prize it is awarded for an authors work as a whole, rather than one specific. The award was established in 1969 as the Books Abroad International Prize for Literature before assuming its current name in 1976.
The Warwick Prize for Writing
Worth £25,000, this international literary prize is given every two years for writing excellence in the English language. It can be in any genre or form, on a theme that changes with every award. Nominations in the past have included novels, poems, e-books, plays and scientific research. Nominations are made by staff, students and alumni of Warwick University and the publishing industry.
This has been awarded every year since 1901 and authors from any country are eligible to receive it. The award is not usually given for individual works but more for an authors work as a whole. It is the world’s most prestigious literary prize.
This is an international poetry festival that is held annually in Struga, Macedonia. It has been held since 1961 and awarded the wreath to some noteworthy poets. It started by recognizing only Macedonian poets but in 1966 expanded it to include poets from around the world.
This is a lifetime achievement award for international writers that was first presented in 1994. There is no prize money. A jury of 6 to 8 American literary experts decide on the recipient of this award, which is presented in loving memory of Anna Fahmi.
This award is presented in honor of the German language novelist Franz Katka. First awarded in 2001 it is sponsored by the Franz Kafka Society and the city of Prague. The recipient of the award received $10,000, a diploma and a bronze statuette.
This award is hosted in the UK and is given annually to a single book in English translation. The prize for the winning title is £50,000 and is shared equally between author and translator.
This is a Swiss literary prize for any work of fiction or non-fiction. It was first launched in 2009 and recognizes authors from around the world and world literature generally. The winner of the prize received CHF 50,000.
This is the biggest cash award for published books by independent publishers and self published authors in Great Britain.
This award is given to poets and writers who are considered to have written socially transformative literature and dedicated their lives to improving social justice. It was founded in 2011 by three female poets.
These prizes are bilingual English and French literary prizes, first launched in Cameroon in 2013. The contest is open internationally, to both authors and literary associations who have to propose work to the Jury.
This is an American literary award that has three categories. Fiction, non-fiction and drama. First established in 2013 it is awarded by Yale University. The award recognizes English language writers from anywhere in the world. Winners receive an unrestricted remunerations of $150,000 and a citation.
Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award
This Polish international literary prize was established in 2013 in Warsaw. It’s names after a Polish poet, essayist and moralist. The aim of the prize is to “recognize outstanding artistic and intellectual literary achievements on the the world stage which have a bearing on the world of values towards which Zbigniew Herbert’s work gravitated”.
