A- Z of 100 + American, British, Irish, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand Book Award List- winners - shortlists - books -authors

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Adelaide Festival Literary Awards - Multiple genres

Established in 1986, the Adelaide Festival Literary Awards (official site), are granted biennially to the best authors for books in Australian children's literature, fiction, innovation, non-fiction and poetry.

The prizes, which judge the best works published in Australia in the previous two years, are the nation's most comprehensive literary awards with 667 entries submitted for 2008 alone.

More Details of past and present winners and shortlists

Agatha Awards- Mystery genre

The Agatha Awards are administered by Malice Domestic® . The organisation holds an annual "fun fan" convention in metropolitan Washington, D.C., saluting the traditional mystery--books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie.

The genre is generally characterised by mysteries that contain no explicit sex, excessive gore, or gratuitous violence; usually featuring an amateur detective, they have a confined setting and characters who know one another. Novels and stories featuring police officers and private detectives may qualify for the Agatha, but materials generally classified as “hard boiled” are not appropriate.

They are awarded in five mystery book categories:
Best Novel; Best First Mystery; Best Short Story; Best Non-Fiction; Best Children's/Young Adu

More Details of past and present winners and shortlists

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Age Book the Year - Multiple genres

The Age Book of the Year Awards are annual literary awards presented by Melbourne's The Age newspaper. The awards were first presented in 1974. Since 1998 they have been presented as part of the Melbourne Writers Festival. Initially, two awards were given, one for fiction (or imaginative writing), the other for non-fiction work, but in 1993, a poetry award in honour of Dinny O'Hearn was added. The criteria are that the works be "of outstanding literary merit and express Australian identity or character" and published in the year before the awards are made. One of the award-winners is chosen as The Age Book of the

More Details of past and present winners and shortlists

Alberta Book Awards

The Alberta Literary Awards were created in 1982 by the Writers Guild of Alberta in Canada to recognize excellence in writing by Alberta authors. Entries are judged by an independent jury recruited by the WGA. Submissions are evaluated on originality, creativity and quality of writing, as well as appropriate fit within a category. Prizes of $1000 are awarded in the following categories:

* R. Ross Annett Award for Children’s Literature
(alternates yearly between picture and chapter books)
* Georges Bugnet Award for Novel
* Wilfred Eggleston Award for Non-Fiction
* Howard O’Hagan Award for Short Fiction
* Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award for Drama
* Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry

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Ainsfield-Wolf- Understanding racism and human diversity

The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards are an American literary award dedicated to honoring written works that make important contributions to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of the rich diversity of human culture. Established in 1935 by Cleveland poet and philanthropist Edith Anisfield Wolf and originally administered by the Saturday Review, the awards have been administered by the Cleveland Foundation since 1963.

Three or four awards, and sometimes a lifetime achievement award, are given out each year. Notable past winners include Zora Neale Hurston (1943), Langston Hughes (1954), Martin Luther King, Jr. (1959), Maxine Hong Kingston (1978), Wole Soyinka (1983), Nadine Gordimer (1988), Toni Morrison (1988), Ralph Ellison (1992), Edward Said (2000), and Derek Walcott (2004)

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Amazon.ca First Novel Award

The Books in Canada First Novel Award is a literary award given annually to the best first novel in English published the previous year by a citizen or resident of Canada. It has been awarded since 1976.

According to Wiki , the Award has a tumultuous history. It was founded by the literary magazine Books in Canada but when money ran short the award was managed by Smithbooks and became the "Smithbooks/Books in Canada First Novel Award". When Smithbooks was acquired by Chapters Books Inc., it became the "Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award". In 1999 the magazine decided to end its affiliation with Chapters. It is now officially the Amazon.ca/Books in Canada First Novel Award.

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Ambassador Book Award- Understanding American life and culture

The Ambassador Book Award is awarded annually by the English Speaking Union. It recognizes important literary works that contribute to the understanding and interpretation of American life and culture. Winners of the award are considered literary ambassadors who provide, in the best contemporary English, an important window on America to the rest of the world. A panel of judges, currently chaired by author Maureen Howard,[1] selects books out of new works in the fields of fiction, biography, autobiography, current affairs, American studies and poetry.

The award was established in 1986. Since then, winners have included books by such notable authors as Tom Wolfe (1988), Joan Didion (1988), Raymond Carver (1989), Gore Vidal (1989), John Cheever (1992), John Updike (1997)[2], Don Delillo (1998), Philip Roth (1999)[3], and Annie Proulx (2000).

More Details of past and present winners and shortlists

American Before Columbus Book Awards

The American Book Awards / Before Columbus Foundation Book Awards

The American Book Awards, established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation, recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American authors, without restriction to race, sex, ethnic background, or genre. The purpose of the awards is to acknowledge the excellence and multicultural diversity of American writing. The American Book Aw ards were created to provide recognition for outstanding literary achievement from the entire spectrum of America's diverse literary community. The purpose of the awards is to recognize literary excellence without limitations or restrictions. There are no categories, no nominees, and therefore no losers. The award winners range from well-known and established writers to under-recognized authors and first works.

More Details of past and present winners and shortlists

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Anthony Awards- Mystery

The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911-1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America.

The Anthony Awards are among the most prestigious awards in the world of mystery writers and have helped boost the careers of numerous recipients.

According to Bouchercon rules, the awards are given in the following categories:

* Best Novel
* Best First Novel
* Best Paperback Original
* Best Short Story
* Best Critical Nonfiction Work
* Special Service Award
* Up to three wild card awards

More Details of past and present winners and shortlist

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Arkansas- The Porter Prize (not to be confused with the Porter Prize for Japanese Companies or the Joghn Porter Memorial Book Prize!)

The Porter Fund Literary Prize is presented annually to an Arkansas writer who has accomplished a substantial and impressive body of work that merits enhanced recognition. The $1000 prize makes it one of the states most lucrative as well as prestigious literary awards. Eligibility requires an Arkansas connection. Honorees tend to be writers without high-profile national reputations, but who have produced significant amounts of quality material.

Arthur C. Clarke

The Arthur C. Clarke Award is awarded every year to the best science fiction novel which received its first British publication during the previous calendar year. The Book Award is chosen by jury.

The Award was established with a generous grant from Arthur C. Clarke with the intention of encouraging science fiction in Britain. It is considered the UK's premier prize for science fiction literature.

The Award was set up in 1986 and the first winner, The Handmaid's Tale (New Windmill) by Margaret Atwood, was announced in 1987. The Award consists of an inscribed plaque in the form of a bookend, and a cheque. The Award is administered jointly by the British Science Fiction and the Science Fiction Foundation, each of whom provides two judges each year. Recently, the Science Museum has joined the Award and provides one judge each year

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Arthur Ellis Crime

This year marks the 26th year for the prestigious Arthur Ellis Awards, named after the nom de travail of Canada's official hangman. Awards are presented in six categories for works in the crime genre published for the first time in the previous year by authors living in Canada, regardless of their nationality, or by Canadian writers living outside of Canada.

There is a seventh award: the Unhanged Arthur Award for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel, which is designed to launch the writing careers of new Canadian crime writers.

The Awards are run by the Crime Writers of Canada, a national organization for Canadian crime writers, associated professionals, and anyone else with a serious interest in Canadian crime writing. Its mission is to promote Canadian crime writing and to raise the profile of Canadian crime writers from coast to coast.

More Details of past and present winners and shortlists

Arthur Ross – Foreign Policy/International Relations

The annual Arthur Ross Book Award recognizes books that make an outstanding contribution to the understanding of foreign policy or international relations. The prize, endowed by Arthur Ross in 2001, is for nonfiction works (including biography) from the past two years, in English or translation, that merit special attention for:

* bringing forth new information that can change our understanding of events or problems;
* developing analytical approaches that allow new and different insights into a key issue;
* or providing new ideas to help resolve foreign-policy problems.

The award consists of a $30,000 first prize, a $15,000 second prize, and a $7,500 honorable mention

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Atlantic Book Awards

The Atlantic Book Awards are given at the annual Atlantic Book Festival which is held in May each year. The awards recognise the work of Canadians who live and work in the nation's four Atlantic Provinces. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island. The population of the Atlantic provinces was 2,332,535 in 2007

More Details of past and present winners and shortlists

Aurealis Awards -

The Aurealis Awards were established in 1995 by Chimaera Publications, the publishers of Aurealis Magazine, to recognise the achievements of Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror writers.

Since 2004, the Aurealis Awards have been administered by Fantastic Queensland in partnership with Chimaera Publications.

It is the intention of the Aurealis Awards to complement the Ditmars and the Australian Children's Book Council Awards. Neither of these awards distinguishes between the different categories of speculative fiction. It is their hope that the Aurealis Awards finalists and winners will increase the profile of Australian science fiction, fantasy, and horror, and will provide an essential reading list for anyone with an interest in these genres.

More Details of past and present winners and shortlists

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Australian Book Industry Awards - Multiple genres

The Australian Publishers Association (APA) is the peak industry body for Australian book, journal and electronic publishers. Established in 1948, the association is an advocate for all Australian publishers: large or small; commercial or non-profit; academic or popular; locally or overseas owned.

More Details of past and present winners and shortlists

Australian Capital Territory Awards

The ACT Government, through the ACT Arts Fund administered by artsACT , has offered an ACT Book of the Year award since 1993. The prize recognises quality contemporary Australian literary works including fiction, non-fiction and poetry. To be eligible for the author must either reside in the ACT or strongly demonstrate an ACT literary practice, and the book must have been published in the calendar year preceding the year of nomination.

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Australian Indies

The Indie Awards Chosen by Australian independent booksellers, this new $19,000 prize will honour an Australian author for the best book of the past twelve months.

The award is being managed by Leading Edge Books, a group of independent bookstores with member stores across Australia, both metropolitan and regional, including many of Australia's iconic independent bookshops. The award demonstrates independent booksellers' commitment to Australian books and writers, with over 120 bookshops working together to sponsor this annual award

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Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards

The 2008 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards) are a welcome new initiative celebrating the contribution of Australian literature to the nation’s cultural and intellectual life. The awards recognise literature’s importance to our national identity, community and economy.

A tax free prize of $100 000 will be awarded to the work judged to be of the highest literary merit in each of two categories:

* Fiction
* Non-Fiction

The awards are open to works written by living Australian citizens and permanent residents. Authors, publishers and literary agents were eligible to enter the works, first published in English and first offered for general sale between 1 January and 31 December 2008 for next years award.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Australian Shadows - Horror

The Australian Shadows is an annual award presented by the The Australian Horror Writers Association, (AHWA) and judged on the overall effect - the skill, delivery, and lasting resonance - of a work of horror fiction written or edited by an Australian and published either in Australia or overseas.

A shortlist of works comprising short stories, novels, collections and/or anthologies is selected by a panel of three judges and presented to that year's Guest Judge for selection of the winner. The shortlisted entries will are announced in March/April of each year following judging

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Australian/Vogel Literaryl Award

The Australian/Vogel Literary Award is Australia's richest and most prestigious award for an unpublished manuscript by a writer under the age of thirty-five and has launched the careers of some of its most successful writers, including Tim Winton, Kate Grenville, Gillian Mears, Brian Castro, Mandy Sayer and Andrew McGahan.

Vogel-winning authors have gone on to win or be shortlisted for other major awards, such as the Miles Franklin Award, the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Booker Prize.

Sponsered by The Australian Newspaper it is administered by the publishers Allen and Unwin.

More Details of past and present winners and shortlists

Aye Write! Bank of Scotland Prize for Scottish Fiction is awarded to the Scottish writer who, in the opinion of the judges, has written the best novel in the previous year.

The prize is open to any full-length novel, written in English or Scots, by a writer born or living in Scotland or who has worked in Scotland for the 12 months prior to the award ceremony.

The inaugural prize in 2008 was won by Dan Rhodes for Gold. The shortlist contained the cream of Scottish writers with A L Kennedy, Ali Smith, Iain Banks, Alasdair Gray and John Burnside.

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Bancroft Prizes – American History and Diplomacy

The Bancroft Prizes are awarded annually by Columbia University in the City of New York. Under the terms of the will of the late Fredric Bancroft, provision is made for two annual prizes of equal rank to be awarded to the authors of distinguished works in either or both of the following categories: American History (including biography) and Diplomacy.

The awards in 2009 are for books published in 2008. The competition is open to all persons whether connected with Columbia University or not and whether citizens of the United States or any other country. Announcement of the awards will be made in the spring of 2009

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Barbara Jefferis Award

The Barbara Jefferis Award (official site) is offered annually for “the best novel written by an Australian author that depicts women and girls in a positive way or otherwise empowers the status of women and girls in society”.

Barbara Jefferis was a feminist, a founding member of the Australian Society of Authors, its first female President and, in the words of Thomas Keneally, “a rare being amongst authors, being both a fine writer but also organisationally gifted. She was a professional and internationally published writer long before most of us dreamed of such things”.

The Award is paid from the Barbara Jefferis Literary Fund, which was established by a bequest from Barbara Jefferis’s husband, ABC film critic John Hide, who died in 2006. The Australian Society of Authors is Trustee of the Fund. In its first year, 2008, the Award is valued at $35,000.

More Details of past and present winners and shortlists

Barry Award- Crime/mystery

Since 1997 the Barry Award, named for fan reviewer Barry Gardner, is bestowed annually at Bouchercon by fan-oriented Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine (DP). The winner receives a plaque.

Eligible books must be published in English. The British Crime Novel category requires the book to be published in Britain, and the other categories have no other restrictions. Nominations are made by DP editor/publisher George Easter with input from a panel of DP reviewers, mystery booksellers, and fans. The panel vote determines the shortlist, and the winner is chosen by DP readers. Subscribe to Deadly Pleasures Magazines

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Best Translated Book Award

This is a new award and is an initiative of Three Percent the web blog arm of Open Letter which is book translating press division of the University of Rochester- think we got that right! Three Percent launched in the summer of 2007 with the lofty goal of becoming a destination for readers, editors, and translators interested in finding out about modern and contemporary international literature. Open Letter plan to publish twelve translated works each year. Excellent.

The Three Percent comes from the fact that only that percentage ( or lower) of books that are published in the USA are translated from another language into English- a great shame given the marvellous amount of literature available. More Details of past and present winners and shortlists

Betty Thrask (first novel under 35s)

The Betty Trask Award for a first novel given by the Society of Authors to citizens of the Commonwealth under the age of 35. The awards have been established since 1984 and total £25,000 each year. The prizes are awarded to traditional or romantic novels, while those of an experimental nature are excluded. Awards are given for both published and unpublished works. They are funded from a bequest by the late Betty Trask, a reclusive author of over thirty romance novels

More Details of past and present winners and shortlists

Booker Prizes (see below click here)

Bramstoker - Horror

The Bram Stoker Awards are an initiative of the Horror Writer's Association (HWA), named in honor of Bram Stoker, author of the seminal horror work, Dracula. The Stoker Awards began in 1987. The Stoker Awards are non-juried awards. Any Horror work first published in the English language may be considered for a Stoker during the year of its publication. The HWA membership at large recommends worthy works for consideration.

Prior to 2005 awards were given in twelve categories but since then in eight: Novel, First Novel, Short Fiction, Long Fiction, Fiction Collection, Poetry Collection, Anthology, and Nonfiction. In addition, Lifetime Achievement Stokers are occasionally presented to individuals whose entire body of work has substantially influenced Horror.

More Details of past and present winners and shortlists

British (Galaxy) Book Awards

The Galaxy British Book Awards are given annually and promoted by the UK publishing industry trade journal Publishing News. They are also known as the Nibbies. One of Britain's most popular literary prizes, it has recently undergone a consolidation process to make it all a bit more manageable. Hopefully, with the reorganisation for this years award, it will settle down to a consistent format so that we can compare like with like as the years go byMore details of past and present winners and shortlists.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

British Columbia Book Prizes

The BC Book Prizes, established in 1985, celebrate the achievements of British Columbia writers and publishers.

The seven Prizes, plus The Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence, are presented annually at the Lieutenant Governor’s BC Book Prize Gala in April.

The Prizes are administered and awarded by members of a non-profit society who represent all facets of the publishing and writing community.

publishers note: The award committee maintain a superb web site. Of all the awards that I monitor world wide (some 200 plus) it is right-up there with the very best- so to is the quality of the shortlist and winners. A fraction of the details regarding the award are included on this page and will hopefully serve to bring the BC Awards to the attention of visitors to this and our sister sites throughout the world. Love it! KJP

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British Science Fiction Association

The BSFA awards are presented annually by the British Science Fiction Association, based on a vote of BSFA members and – in recent years – members of the British national science fiction convention (Eastercon).

The shortlists have now been announced for the BSFA awards for the best works of 2007, and also for a one-off award (to celebrate the BSFA’s fiftieth anniversary) for the best genre novel of 1958

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Canadian Authors Association Literary Awards

Introduced in 1975, the Canadian Authors Association (CAA) Literary Awards, continue the association’s long tradition of honouring Canadian writers who achieve excellence without sacrificing popular appeal.

"The major awards given annually by authors to authors."

Throughout their existence, these CAA Awards for Adult Literature have been designed as objective rewards for excellence. Judging is carried out by panels selected in confidence. No short lists are published. The Journal (CBC) has referred to them as "The major awards given annually by authors to authors."

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

California Book Awards

Since 1931, the California Book Awards have honored the exceptional literary merit of California writers and publishers. This makes it one of the oldest awards that we cover on the whole literary award network! Bear in mind as many people live in California as in Australia.

Each year a select jury considers hundreds of books in search of the very best in literary achievement. Eligible books must be written while the author is a resident of California, and they must be published during the year under consideration. Awards are presented in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, First Work of Fiction, Poetry, Californiana, Notable Contribution to Publishing, Juvenile Literature and Young Adult Literature. The award ceremony takes place in June

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CBC Literary Awards

The CBC Literary Awards competition is the only literary competition that celebrates original, unpublished works, in Canada’s two official languages. There are three categories—short story, poetry, and creative nonfiction—and $60,000 of prize money courtesy of the Canada Council for the Arts. In addition, winning entries are published in Air Canada’s enRoute magazine and visibility is offered to the winners and their winning entries by CBC.

The CBC Literary Awards also published two anthologies, one in English and one in French, celebrating the first place winners of the joint competition between 2001 and 2006. The Mind’s Eye (published by ECW) and Un ton, une voix, un texte… (XYZ Éditeur) feature the best in new poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction in both languages, and each volume contains three new translations of works from the other. We regret the recent passing of Bob Weaver, the founder of the CBC Literary Awards English competition 30 years ago. His legacy lives on in the Awards today, and in the pages of the newly published anthologies. The Mind’s Eye and Un ton, une voix, un texte… are available at CBC shop and in bookstores across the country

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Charles Taylor Prize

The Charles Taylor Prize is presented by the Charles Taylor Foundation to the best Canadian work of literary non-fiction. It is named for Charles Taylor, a noted Canadian historian and writer.

The award has a monetary value of $25,000. The prize was inaugurated in 2000, and was presented biennially until 2004. At the 2004 awards ceremony, it was announced that the Charles Taylor Prize would become an annual award

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Christy Award

Every year publishers are invited to submit novels written from a Christian worldview and copyrighted in the year preceding the awards. Each novel is entered in one of several genre categories and/or the first novel category. Each category of novels is then read and evaluated against a ten-point criteria by a panel of seven judges composed of librarians, reviewers, academicians, literary critics, and other qualified readers, none of whom have a direct affiliation with a publishing company. The award is designed to

• Nurture and encourage creativity and quality in the writing and publishing of fiction written from a Christian worldview.
• Bring a new awareness of the breadth and depth of fiction choices available, helping to broaden the readership.
• Provide opportunity to recognize novelists whose work may not have reached bestseller status

More details past winners and shortlists

Commonwealth Writers Prize

The Commonwealth Writers' Prize is organised and funded by the Commonwealth Foundation. It was first awarded in 1987. The Commonwealth Foundation is an intergovernmental organisation working in the 53 countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. The aim of this book award is to encourage new Commonwealth fiction, and to ensure that works of merit reach a wider audience outside their country of origin.

The Prize covers the Commonwealth regions of Africa, Europe and South Asia, The Caribbean and Canada, and South East Asia and the South Pacific. In Each of the four regions two prizes of £1,000 are awarded for the Best Book and for the Best First Book. Eight regional winners’ books are then judged by the A pan-Commonwealth panel. Authors win £10,000 for the overall Best Book and £5,000 for the Best First Book. Writers and judges come together in a final literary programme in a different Commonwealth country each year.- More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Connecticut Book Awards

Administerd by the Connecticut Center for the Book whose mission it is to celebrate books, writers and readers who engender and sustain the life of the imagination and to highlight authors, illustrators, printers, publishers, and the literary heritage of the State of Connecticutto celebrate books, writers and readers who engender and sustain the life of the imagination and to highlight authors, illustrators, printers, publishers, and the literary heritage of the State of Connecticut. The Center is located at Hartford Public Library.

The Author/illustrator/designer must have resided in Connecticut for at least three years or have been born in the state. Alternatively, the work may be set in Connecticut. Finalists are announced in August and the winners in September.

Awards given in the following categories Biography or Memoir- Children’s Literature, Author - Children’s Literature, Illustrator- Design:Cover only or Entire book - Fiction - Nonfiction - Poetry . Details past & present winners

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Costa Book Awards

The Costa Book Awards is one of the most prestigious and popular literary prizes in the UK and recognises some of the most enjoyable books of the year by writers based in the UK and Ireland.

The Costa Book Awards started life in 1971 as the Whitbread Literary Awards. From 1985 they were known as the Whitbread Book Awards until 2006, when Costa Coffee took over ownership - the year that both Costa and the Book Awards celebrated their 30 th anniversary.

Awards are given across five categories:

First Novel; Biography; Novel; Poetry and Children's. The Costa Book of the year is then chosen from the shortlist of category winners.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Crime Writers Association 'Daggers" (crime)

The Crime Writers Association is responsible for administering Britain's leading crime fiction awards. Membership is open to any author who has had one crime novel produced by a bona fide publisher. It is this collective body, consisting of over 450 members,that decides upon the awards. There are seven Dagger Book Awards including the :Duncan Lawrie Dagger. the Duncan Lawrie International Dagger; CWA Ian Flemming Steel Dagger; CWA New Blood Dagger; CWA Dagger in the Library; the Debut Dagger and Cartier Diamond Dagger. The Ellis Peter Historical Award is also given.

Starting in 1955 major award was originally known as the Crossed Red Herring Award, then the Gold Dagger and is now the Duncan Lawrie Dagger. It carries a prize of £20,000, the largest award for crime fiction in the world for the best crime novel of the year

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Dartmouth Awards

The Dartmouth Book Awards honour Nova Scotian literature. Two prizes of $1500 each are awarded - one for fiction and one for non-fiction.

The Dartmouth Book and Writing Awards were established in 1988 by the then Mayor of Dartmouth, Dr. John P. Savage, with the financial support of corporations interested in the province's artistic life. The intent was to honour Nova Scotian fiction and non-fiction by Canadian authors. The awards are administered by a steering committee composed of representatives from the Halifax Public Libraries, the Halifax Regional Municipality and members of the community. The Dartmouth Book Award for fiction is sponsored by Jarislowsky-Fraser Ltd. and the non-fiction award is sponsored by Seamark Asset Management Ltd

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Desmond Eliott

The Desmond Elliott Prize is a new biennial prize for a first novel written in English and published in the UK. Worth £10,000 to the winner, the prize is named after the literary agent and publisher, Desmond Elliott.

Charismatic, witty, and waspish, Elliott lived his life with sparkle. He drank only champagne, always crossed the Atlantic on Concorde and lunched at Fortnum and Mason. His office was in Mayfair and he had houses in St James’s and on Park Avenue. Desmond Elliott’s ethos to support new writers will live on in the shape of the prize.

When choosing the winner, a panel of 3 judges will look for a novel which creates a “buzz”, a book with “word of mouth” appeal. In addition, the judges will look for the following qualities:

* a novel which is a page-turner but which makes you pause for thought
* an intelligent book with broad appeal

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Dobbie Literary Award -

For Australian women writers of a published book of fiction or nonfiction classifiable as 'life writing'. Life writing for the purpose of this award includes novels, autobiography, biography, travel and other writing with a strong personal element.

Nita Dobbie (1904-1992) was raised by her aunt Nita Kibble after her mother's death. She worked as a librarian and research officer at the Standards Association for 33 years. Nita Dobbie established the 'Nita B. Kibble Literary Award' to advance Australian literature and to provide incentive to women writers.

The State Library of New South Wales provides a judge for the award.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Dublin IMPAC International

The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Awardis the largest and most international prize of its kind. It involves libraries from all corners of the globe, and is open to books written in any language. The Book Award, an initiative of Dublin City Council, is a partnership between Dublin City Council, the Municipal Government of Dublin City, and IMPAC, a productivity improvement company which operates in over 50 countries. The Award is administered by Dublin City Public Libraries

The prize is €100,000 which is awarded to the author if the book is written in English. If the winning book is in English translation, the author receives €75,000 and the translator, €25,000. The winner also receives a trophy which is sponsored by Waterford Crystal. The 2008 will be given for a book published in 2006. This delay gives an opportunity for the consultative process to work well .Recent winners include notables such as; Colm Tóibín, Orhan Pamuk, Nicola Barker, David Malouf and Herta Muller amongst others.Out Stealing Horses by Norwegian author Per Petterson

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Dylan Thomas Prize for Young WriterS

The Dylan Thomas Prize is a new literary prize, named after the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, "awarded to the best published writer in English under the age of 30 from anywhere in the world". The prize is unique in its broad range of eligible material, covering novels, short story collections, poetry collections and plays. The winner of the prize receives £60,000. The prize was announced in 2004 and the inaugural prize was awarded in October 2006 to Rachel Trezise.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

ECPA Christian Book Awards- Evangelical Christian Publishers Association

Since 1978 the Christian Book Awards (formerly the Gold Medallion Awards) have awarded excellence in six categories: Bibles, Bible Reference & Study, Children & Youth, Inspiration & Gift, Christian Life, and Fiction. The awards are overseen by The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association .

Five finalists are selected in each category following a stringent judging process by judging panels specially selected for each category. Each title is evaluated and scored based on category-specific criteria such as content, literary quality, design and impact. The top scoring book in each category is named the Christian Book Award Winner. The Christian Book of the Year is chosen among the finalists based on its overall impact on the consumer as measured by sales.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Edgar Allan Poe- Mystery

The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , the Edgars, are named after Edgar Allan Poe the legendary mystery writer. They are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America. They honor the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television, film and theatre published or produced in the past year.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Elizabeth Longford (Historical Biography)

The Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography was established in 2003 in affectionate memory of Elizabeth Longford, the acclaimed biographer, and is sponsored by Flora Fraser and Peter Soros. It is administered by the Society of Authors.

This £5,000 award is presented annually for a historical biography published in the year preceding the prize

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Galaxy British Book Awards

The Galaxy British Book Awards are given annually and promoted by the UK publishing industry trade journal Publishing News. They are also known as the Nibbies. One of Britain's most popular literary prizes, it has recently undergone a consolidation process to make it all a bit more manageable. Hopefully, with the reorganisation for this years award, it will settle down to a consistent format so that we can compare like with like as the years go byMore details of past and present winners and shortlists.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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George Washington Book Prize-

The George Washington Book Prize was instituted in 2005 and is awarded annually to the best book on America's founding era. It is administered by Washington College’s C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience and sponsored by Washington College in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

At $50,000, the George Washington Book Prize is one of the largest book awards in the United States.

The 2008 George Washington Book Prize was awarded to Marcus Rediker for The Slave Ship: A Human History (Viking, 2007). Previous winners have included Ron Chernow in 2005 for Alexander Hamilton; Stacy Schiff in 2006 for A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America; and Charles Rappleye in 2007 for Sons of Providence: The Brown Brothers, The Slave Trade, and the American Revolution.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Goldsmith Prize-

The purpose of the Goldsmith Book Prize is to recognize works that "improve government through an examination of the intersection between press, politics, and public policy." The prize is awarded to the book published in the previous year that best exemplifies the fulfillment of this goal. The first such prize was awarded in 1993.

The Goldsmith Awards Program, launched in 1991, is based at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, a part of Harvard University. The program includes two separate book prizes, the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting, and the Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Governor-General's Literary Awards

The Canada Council for the Arts funds, administers and promotes the Governor General’s Literary Awards (GG's). The value of each award is (cdn) $25,000, increased from $15,000 in celebration of the Canada Council’s 50th anniversary.

Each winner also receives a specially-crafted copy of the winning book. The publisher of each winning book received $3,000 to support promotional activities. Non-winning finalists each receive $1,000 in recognition of their selection as finalists, bringing the total value of the Awards to approximately $450,000. BMO Financial Group has been the sponsor of the Governor General’s Literary Awards since 1988More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Guardian First Novel

Established in 1965 as the Guardian Fiction Award by The Guardian newspaper, the prize is worth £10,000 to the winner. In 1965 the prize money was 200 guineas (£210) and was awarded to a work of fiction by British or Commonwealth writer and published in the UK. The shortlist is announced in November each year and the winner in December.

The selection is made by a panel of critics and writers, chaired by the literary editor of the Guardian. This is the oldest and best-established of the awards sponsored by a newspaper. Sponsorship of a literary prize by one newspaper has a somewhat negative effect on publicity since other newspapers are less willing to publicise the winner, so given the quality of the choices Literary Awards UK is pleased to help spread the word..

In 1999 the prize was altered to Guardian First Book Award, being no longer restricted to fiction. It is rewarded to the best new literary talent, whether working in the field of fiction or non-fiction and across all genres

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Hemmingway Foundation-Pen Award-

The Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award is awarded annually to a novel or book of short stories by an American author who has not previously published a book of fiction. The award is funded by the Ernest Hemingway Foundation, which has been administered by the Hemingway Society since 1987, and PEN New England. It is named for Ernest Hemingway, the author of such novels as For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea. Mary Hemingway, a member of PEN, founded the award in 1976 both to honor the memory of her husband and to recognize distinguished first books of fiction.

The winner is selected by a panel of three distinguished fiction writers and receives a cash prize of US$8000. Along with the winner, two finalists and two runners-up receive a Ucross Residency Fellowship at the Ucross Foundation, a retreat for artists and writers on a 22,000 acre (89 km²) ranch on the high plains in Ucross, Wyoming. The award ceremony is held at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Hugo Awards-

The Hugo Awards are given every year for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories. Hugo Awards have been presented every year since 1955.

Hugo Award nominees and winners are chosen by members of the annual Worldcon (although only about 700 of several thousand Worldcon members actually vote[1]) and the presentation evening constitutes its central point. The selection process is defined in the World Science Fiction Society Constitution as instant-runoff voting with five nominees (except in the case of a tie).

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

IACP Cookbook Awards

The IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) annually celebrate the year's most outstanding food and beverage publications. The awards program (originally called Tastemaker's) was created to encourage and promote quality and creativity in cookbook writing and publishing and to expand awareness of culinary literature. The IACP Cookbook Awards have become the industry's most coveted acknowledgement of excellence in the cookbook publishing world.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Independent Publisher Book Award for Fiction

The Independent Publisher Book Awards were established in 1996 to bring increased recognition to the deserving but often unsung titles published by independent authors and publishers. More

Independent Foreign Fiction Prize

The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize was inaugurated by British newspaper The Independent to honour fiction in translation in the United Kingdom. The award was first launched in 1990 and ran for five years before falling into abeyance. It was revived in 2001 with the support of Arts Council England. Entries (fiction or short stories) must be published in English translation in the UK in the year preceding the award and the author must be alive at the time that the translation is published.

Uniquely, the prize acknowledges both the winning novelist and translator, each being awarded £5,000.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Irish Book Awards

The Irish Book Awards are annual awards made to books in various categories, the only literary awards supported by all Irish bookstores. First awarded in 2006, they grew out of the Hughes & Hughes bookstore's Irish Novel of the Year Prize which was inaugurated in 2000. Since 2007 the Awards have been an independent not-for-profit company. There are currently nine categories, seven of which are judged by the Irish Literary Academy, two by a public vote. There is also a lifetime achievement award. Categories are:More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

James Tait-Black Memorial

Founded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English Language. One is awarded for fiction and the second for biography. They are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, part of the United Kingdom, the prizes were founded by Mrs Janet Coutts Black in memory of her late husband, James Tait Black, a partner in the publishing house of A & C Black Ltd. The winners are chosen by the Professor of English Literature at the University, who is assisted by PhD students in the shortlisting phase.

Major literary figures to receive the award include D. H. Lawrence, Arnold Bennett, John Buchan, Robert Graves, Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Anthony Powell, Muriel Spark, J.G. Ballard, Angela Carter, Margaret Drabble and Salman Rushdie

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Janet-Heidinger Kafka-

Since 1976, the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women's Studies and the Department of English at the University of Rochester have awarded the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for fiction by an American woman. The idea for the prize came out of the personal grief of the friends and family of a fine young editor who was killed in an automobile accident just as her career was beginning to achieve its promise of excellence. She was 30 years old, and those who knew her believed she would do much to further the causes of literature and women. Her family, her friends, and her professional associates in the publishing industry created the endowment from which the prize is bestowed, in memory of Janet Heidinger Kafka and the literary standards and personal ideals for which she stood

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize

About the Award -The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize rewards the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama) by a UK or Commonwealth writer aged 35 or under.

This important prize is awarded in honour of the writer John Llewellyn Rhys, who was killed in action in the Second World War. It award was founded by John Llewellyn Rhys's young wife, also a writer, who began the award to honour and celebrate his life.

Past winners include Margaret Drabble (1966), William Boyd (1982), Jeanette Winterson (1987), Ray Monk (1990), Matthew Kneale (1992) and David Mitchell (1999). Last year’s winner was Uzodinma Iweala (right) for Beasts of No Nation.The winner receive £5000, with the other shortlisted authors receiving £500 each More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Kathleen Mitchell Award for Young Writers

The Kathleen Mitchell Award for Young Writers is a biennial Award dedicated to encouraging young Australian authors to achieve their dreams.

It was established in 1996 by the will of the late Kathleen Adele Mitchell. Her aim was to encourage “the advancement, improvement and betterment of Australian literature, to improve the educational style of the authors, and to provide them with additional amounts and thus enable them to improve their literary efforts”. More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

The Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize

The Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize has been awarded every year since 1996. It promotes books that will contribute to greater understanding and cooperation among the peoples and nations of the Pacific Rim. The Prize is worth US$30,000. Half of the cash award is given to the author of the winning fiction title, and half is given to the author of the winning nonfiction title. More

Lannan Literary Awards

A series of awards and literary fellowships given out in various fields by the Lannan Foundation. The foundation's awards are some of the most lucrative in the world. The 2006 awards for poetry, fiction and nonfiction each came with $150,000. Established in 1989, the awards are meant "to honor both established and emerging writers whose work is of exceptional quality", according to the foundation.

The awards reflect the progressive, left-wing philosophy governing the Lannan Foundation, a family foundation that describes itself as "dedicated to cultural freedom, diversity and creativity through projects which support exceptional contemporary artists and writers, as well as inspired Native activists in rural indigenous communities.

Whilst an American based organisation, recipients of the awards from all around the world -more

Los Angeles Times Book Prizes-

Since 1980, the Los Angeles Times has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The Prizes "currently have nine single-title categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award added in 1991), history, mystery/thriller (category added in 2000), poetry, science and technology (category added in 1989), and young adult fiction (category added in 1998). In addition, the Robert Kirsch Award is presented annually to a living author with a substantial connection to the American West whose contribution to American letters deserves special recognition" [1].

The Book Prize program was founded by the late Art Seidenbaum, a Los Angeles Times book editor from 1978 to 1985; an award named after him was added a year after his death in 1990. The Robert Kirsch Award is named after the longtime Times book critic who died in 1980. Works are eligible during the year of their first US publication in English, though English does not have to be the original language of the work. The author of each winning book and the Kirsch Award recipient receives a citation and $1,000- More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Louisiana Writer Award

Created in 2000 by the Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana.

The award is given annually to honor a contemporary Louisiana writer whose published body of work represents a distinguished and enduring contribution to the literary and intellectual heritage of Louisiana. Only contemporary Louisiana writers are eligible for the award. Writers of juvenile and adult fiction, nonfiction, plays and poetry are eligible.

A Louisiana writer is defined as one who is a native of Louisiana or a current or past resident of the state.

The award is presented during a formal ceremony at the Louisiana Book Festival. The tribute includes a commemorative award and a $1,000 honorarium. Winners details

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MaCavity Awards-

The Macavity Award is named for the "mystery cat" of T.S. Eliot (Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats). Each year the members of Mystery Readers International nominate and vote for their favorite mysteries in four categories: Best Mystery Novel. Best First Mystery. Best Mystery Short Story. Best Mystery Non-Fiction: More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Man Booker Prize

Now in its fortieth year the Man Booker Prize aims to reward the best novel of the year written by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland. The Man Booker judges are selected from the country's finest critics, writers and academics to maintain the consistent excellence of the prize. The winner of the Man Booker Prize receives £50,000 and both the winner and the shortlisted authors are guaranteed a worldwide readership plus a dramatic increase in book sales.

Bookers uk page link - Man Booker USA Page click here -

Best of Booker Award Click Here UK Page |. Click here for USA Best of Booker page

The winners over the years reads like a Who's Who of fine authors. They include such luminaries as Peter Carey (2001, 1989), J.M. Coetzee (1999, 1983), Arundhati Roy (1997), Michael Ondaatje 1992), Kazuo Ishiguro (1989), Kingsley Amis 1986), Thomas Kennelly (1982), Salman Rushdie (1981), Iris Murdoch (1978) and V.S. Naipul (1971), to name but a few.Your mission, should you chose to accept it, is to match authors above winning years with the winning books. More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Man Booker International Prize

A biennial prize, The Man Booker International Prize echos and reinforces the annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction in that literary excellence will be its sole focus. The Man Booker International Prize is significantly different from the annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction in that it highlights one writer's overall contribution to fiction on the world stage.  In seeking out literary excellence the judges consider a writer's body of work rather than a single novel. More details USA Page |

Massachusetts Book Awards

A foundational program of the Massachusetts Center for the Book. The program highlights the work of the Massachusetts contemporary writing community and encourages readers to do some "close reading" of those imaginative works created by local authors.

Each year, the MassBooks recognize significant achievements in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, and children's literature from the previous calendar year. To be eligible, books must have been written by authors who currently live and work in Massachusetts or must present topics of particular and specific importance to the Commonwealth regardless of their author’s residency. More details of past and present winners and shortlists

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Manitoba Book Awards

The Manitoba Book Awards is an annual awards gala co-produced by the Manitoba Writers' Guild and the Association of Manitoba Book Publishers. Brave New Words is the grand finale to Manitoba Book Week, usually at the end of each April.

The awards honour the best writing and publishing talent across a diverse number of categories. The premiere prize of the gala is the McNally Robinson Book of the year award, a $5000 prize to the best English language work of fiction, poetry or non-fiction written for adults. In all, fourteen awards and over $30,000 are given to deserving Manitoba Writers every year. More details of past and present winners and shortlists

Miles Franklin

The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize for the best Australian ‘published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases’. The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879 - 1954), who is most well known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career (published in 1901) and for bequeathing her estate to fund this award. As of 2006 the award is worth AU$42,000 and it is administered by the Trust Foundation.

The award was first given in 1957 to Patrick White for Voss. Some of the more notable winners in the intervening years have been, Dirt Music by Tim Winton (2002), Jack Maggs (1998), Oscar and Lucinda and Bliss (1981) by three time winner Peter Carey, Poor Fellow My Country, Xavier Herbert (1975) and Sumner Locke's 1963 winner, Careful, He Might Hear You More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Minnesota Book Awards

The awards were created over two decades ago by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library as part of a larger festival of the book.

Books created by writers, illustrators or book artists who are Minnesotans are eligible for Minnesota Book Awards.  The Awards are given each year for books published in the previous year.  For instance, the winners in 2008 were books published in 2007.  The Book Awards process begins with nominations, which are received from authors, publishers and others from throughout the state. From the nominated works, Award finalists are chosen by panels of preliminary round judges. Award winners are then selected by different, final round, judging panels.  Over the years of the Book Awards program, the categories of Award winners and the number of finalists has varied from year to year. More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Montana New Zealand Book Awards

Formed in 1996, this single set of national awards combines the Montana (previously Goodman Fielder Wattie) Book Awards and the New Zealand Book Awards.

The Montana New Zealand Book Awards are supported by Montana Wines and administered by Booksellers New Zealand.

Over the years awards have been given in various combinations of the following categories: Fiction, Poetry, Illustrative Arts, Natural Heritage, Leisure & Lifestyle, (later Lives & Lifestyle), Readers' Choice, Honour Award, Book of the Year / Cultural Heritage, Deutz Medal for Fiction, Montana Medal for Non-Fiction, Best First Book of Poetry, Best First Book of Fiction, Best First Book of Non- Fiction, Reviewer of the Year, Best Review Page. More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Montana Book Award (USA State Award)

An annual award that recognizes literary and/or artistic excellence in a book published during the award year. Eligible titles will be set in Montana, deal with Montana themes or issues, or be written, edited, or illustrated by a Montana author or artist. Books for all ages will be considered for the award.

The Montana Book Award was founded by the Friends of the Missoula Public Library in 2002 and winners are selected by a committee of individuals representing areas throughout Montana.

Not to be confused with the Montana New Zealand Book Awards!

National Biography (Australia)

For a published literary work of biographical or autobiographical writing. The National Biography Award was established in 1996 to encourage the highest standards of writing biography and autobiography and to promote public interest in those genres.

The National Biography Award is administered and presented by the NSW State Library (official site) on behalf of its generous benefactors Geoffrey Cains and Michael Crouch AO.

Past winners of the prize include East of Time by Jacob G. Rosenberg, Robert Hillman's for The Boy in the Green Suit: An Innocent Abroad in the Middle East, Peter Rose's Rose Boys: a Memoir of Life with Robert, and Roberta Sykes's 1998 winner, the extraordinary, Snake Cradle: Autobiography of a Black Woman More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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US National Book Awards –

The National Book Awards were established in 1950 by a consortium of publishing groups that wanted to bring to the public's attention exceptional books written by Americans, as well as encourage reading in general. Four categories are rewarded:

Past Winners - Nonfiction - Poetry - Young People's Literature - Fiction

Today, the awards are give in four genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people's literature. The winners, chosen by five-member, independent judging panels for each genre, receive a $10,000 cash award and a bronze statue.

The Award is one the 'big three 'American book awards alongside the Pulitzer and the National Book Critics Choice. The Nationals Five Under 35 Award is also worth having a look at. Current results

Nonfiction, Poetry, Young People's Literature

National Circle of Book Critics – Multiple genres

The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC), consisting of nearly 700 active book reviewers, each year presents awards for the best book in six categories: fiction, general nonfiction, biography, autobiography, poetry, and criticism. Those who got the nod for this years final cull are featured above.

Prior to 1997, the award was limited to American citizens, when the eligibility rules were changed to include all authors of the best books published in the United States, regardless of nationality. Awards are announced in March each year with Finalists announced in January

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Nebula Awards– Science fiction/fantasy published in America

About the Literary Award- The Nebula Awards are given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the two previous years . There is no cash prize associated with the book award, the award itself being a transparent block with an embedded glitter spiral nebula.

The fiction Nebulas are awarded in five different categories: novel, novella, novelette, short story, and script. The Society also gives the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Fiction.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Ned Kelly Awards

The Ned Kelly Awards (named for the famous Australian bushranger Ned Kelly) are Australia's leading literary awards for crime writing in both the crime fiction and true crime genres. They were established in 1996 by the Crime Writers Association of Australia to reward excellence in the field of crime writing within Australia.

The genre of crime writing has long been popular, but it wasn't until the early 1990's that a local growth of writing within the genre occurred in Australia. By the middle of the decade support for the field had grown sufficiently that it was decided to establish the Ned Kelly Awards.

The awards are effectionately referred to as 'The Neddies' within the community. Winners are announced during the Melbourne Writers' Festival each year

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards

The Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards are administered by the Writers' Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Literary Arts Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador under the distinguished patronage of The Honourable John C. Crosbie, PC, OC, ONL, QC, Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador. They are financed by corporate and private sponsors. The winner in each category receives a cash prize of $1,500 and each runner-up will receive $500. More details of past and present winners and shortlists

New Jersey Council for the Humanities (NJCH) Book Awards

a nonprofit organization, was established in 1973 as the state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Thier programs are free and open to the public. A twenty-five member board of trustees, drawn from academia, business, and public life, oversees their work.

Each year NJCH selects for its Book Award a work of nonfiction in the humanities that encourages critical reflection and makes scholarly knowledge accessible to a general audience. The author needs a New Jersey connection either by birth, residence, or occupation at the time of submission, or the book is concerned primarily with a significant New Jersey subject. In either case, the author must clearly possess and display knowledge of the subject.The award will be presented at ceremony in the fall. More details of past and present winners and shortlists

New York Society Library Book Awards

(NYC Book Awards) established in 1996, honor books of literary quality or historical importance that, in the opinion of the selection committee, evoke the spirit or enhance appreciation of New York City. It is not necessary that the city be the major subject of the book, but it must play an essential, invigorating role beyond that of the setting. More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Nita Kibble Literary Award

The Nita Kibble Literary Award - is for women writers of a published book of fiction or nonfiction classifiable as 'life writing'. Life writing for the purpose of this award includes novels, autobiography, biography, travel and other writing with a strong personal element.

Nita Kibble (1879-1962) was the first woman to be a librarian with the State Library of New South Wales. She held the position of Principal Research Librarian from 1919 until her retirement in 1943. Nita Kibble was a founding member of the Australian Institute of Librarians. More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Nobel Prize for Literature

Awarded by the Swedish Academy since 1901 to a person who has made the greatest contribution to the field of literature, as determined by the Nobel Committee. Nominations for the prize are made by members of the Academy, members of similar academies and societies, professors of literature and language, former Nobel laureates, and presidents of author organizations.

The monetary award is a share of the interest on the endowment made by Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist, which is held in trust by the Nobel Foundation. Yes, the one who invented dynamite. The prize carries a financial prize of 10 million Swedish kronor, that's about £817,000. Very handy. More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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North Carolina Book Awards

The North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, established in 1900, is among the oldest organizations of its kind in the nation. Its history is interlinked with that of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History.
Organised in cooperation with other groups and with an aim to promote interest in the state’s literature, the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association annually conducts the following competitions for North Carolina authors: The Ragan Old North State Award Cup for Nonfiction, The Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry, The Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction- Details of present and past winners

Northern California Book Awards

Starting in 1981, the awards honor the work of Northern California authors in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translation, and children’s Literature.

“This is a very heartfelt, volunteer effort to celebrate the best of Northern California writing and publishing,” says Joyce Jenkins, director of Poetry Flash and chairwoman of the Northern California Book Reviewers Association, which organizes the event. “We also seek to recognize this as a literary region with its own character, identity and history and to highlight the importance of writing and publishing here." More details of current winner

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Northern Territory Awards

The Australian Northern Territory Literary Awards are offered annually and are administered by the Northern Territory Library. The award gives prizes for poetry, essay, short story and youth literarture. In 2008 the Charles Darwin University Bookshop joined as a new sponsor and is offering a travel short story award. Existing sponsors are Dymocks Booksellers, Charles Darwin University and the Kath Manzie Estate. Please support them in return.

As the prizes are given for mostly locally produced work they are not widely distributed, although this years winner, Ochre and Dust, can be easily tracked down as it has also won the inaugural Prime Minister's Literary Award for Non-fiction. That said, the Northern Territory Library makes available the winning short stories, essays and poems in a free download. PDF form each year. They are well worth a read so please check them out as some of the work is stunning.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

NSW Premier's Literary Awards

In 1978 the New South Wales Government inaugurated the annual New South Wales Premiers Literary Awards to honour distinguished achievement by Australian writers. The Awards are announced during the Sydney Writers' Festival. Arts NSW (official site) administers the NSW Premier's Literary Awards. 11 prizes ranging in value from $5,000 to $40,000 are offered:

The Christina Stead Prize for Fiction ($40,00)
The UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing ($5,000)

The Community Relations Commission Award ($15,000)

Gleebooks Prize ($10,000)

The Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction ($40,000)
The Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry ($30,000)
The Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature ($30,000)
The Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature ($30,000)
The Play Award ($30,000)
The Script Writing Award ($30,000)
The Biennial Prize for Literary Scholarship ($30,000)

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

New South Wales Premier’s History Awards

Sponsored by the Australian New South Wales Department of the Arts, Sport and Recreation, through Arts NSW.

The awards, conducted in association with the History Council of New South Wales, were first presented in 1997 to honour distinguished achievement in history by Australian citizens and permanent residents of Australia. They assist in establishing values and standards in historical research and publication and encourage everyone to appreciate and learn from the work of our historians. The prizes include the:

Australian History Prize | General History Prize | Community and Regional History Prize | Young People's History Prize | John and Patricia Ward History Prize

Past winners have included K.S. Inglis, Patricia Jalland, Inga Clendinnen, Bruce Scates and Raelene Frances, Trevor Graham, Christopher Clark, Nadia Wheatley, and Grace Karskens.

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Ohioana Book Awards

Began in 1942 to bring state and national attention to Ohio authors and their books. Each year, up to six awards may be given to provide recognition and encouragement to authors for outstanding books in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Juvenile Books, Poetry, and About Ohio or an Ohioan.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Oklahoma Book Awards

Sponsored by the Oklahoma Center for the Book (OCB) the Oklahoma Book Awards are given each year in fiction, non-fiction, children/young adult, poetry, and design/illustration categories for work written by an Oklahoman or about Oklahoma.

Along with the annual Book Awards, the Center honors an Oklahoman who has contributed to the state's literary heritage by giving the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is named for Norman historian Arrell Gibson, the Center's first president. More details of past and present winners

Orange Broadband Prizes for Fiction and New Writers

The Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (official site) is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, awarded annually for the best original full-length novel by a female author of any nationality, written in English and published in the UK in the preceding year. No doubt the name will change once broadband is obsolete.

The winner of the book award receives £30,000, along with a bronze sculpture called the "Bessie" created by artist Grizel Niven, the sister of actor/writer David Niven.

2005 saw the introduction of the new Orange Broadband Award for New Writers which takes the form of a £10,000 bursary, provided by Arts Council England

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Orwell Prize for Politcal Writing

The Orwell Prize is the pre-eminent British prize for political writing. There are two annual awards: a Book Prize and a Journalism Prize. They are awarded to the book, and for the journalism, which is judged to have best achieved George Orwell’s aim to ‘make political writing into an art’. Homage to Catalonia, Down and Out in Paris and London, The Road to Wigan Pier, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Animal Farm and Orwell’s incomparable essays still resonate around the world as peerless examples of courageous independence of mind, steely analysis and beautiful writing.

The prizes are intended to encourage writing and thinking in this tradition. Clear, elegant expression, original ideas and hard argument about political issues that communicate to a wide audience are looked for. Style matters and content matters. The definition of politics is broad, and can include political and moral dilemmas, ideas and history, as well as issues in public policy, social and cultural concerns, in both fiction and non-fiction. The ambition of the prizes is to reward, celebrate and promote work that helps nurture the discussion of politics and that contributes to the quality of public life.

For the first time in 2007, broadcast and film journalism as well as internet publications were included in the scope of the prize.

The judges ask only that ‘writing must be of a kind that is aimed at or accessible to the public, and submissions will be judged equally for the excellence of their style and the originality of their content’.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Pen/Faulkner Award –

The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, administered by the Folger Shakespeare Library, was established in 1980 by writers to honor their peers.

The award is named for William Faulkner, who used his Nobel Prize funds to create an award for young writers, and PEN (Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists and Novelists), the international writers' organization.

The award judges, who are themselves writers of fiction, each read more than 250 novels and short story collections published during the calendar year before selecting five outstanding books.

The author of the book designated the winner receives $15,000; each of the other nominees receives $5,000

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Philip K. Dick –

The Philip K. Dick Award, named for the famous author, is sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society (PSFS) and hosted by Northwest Regional Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention (Norwescon). It is presented annually for distinguished science fiction paperback original published in the United States. The five judges must be writers or academics, and they choose their own successor every year.

The book must be a paperback original to be eligible—simultaneous publication in hardcover and paperback makes a book ineligible. While the purpose of this requirement is to promote a “neglected” media, the result is that the Philip K. Dick Award rarely chooses the same books as other science fiction awards, making it an excellent source of quality book recommendations. In addition to winners and nominees, special citations are given to books that stand out among the nominees.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Pulitzer Prizes-

The Pulitzer Prizes were established in 1917 with an endowment from Joseph Pulitzer to Columbia University to recognise significant achievements in journalism, letters, drama, and music. In the latter years of the 19th century, Joseph Pulitzer stood out as the very embodiment of American journalism. Hungarian-born, an intense indomitable figure, Pulitzer was the most skillful of newspaper publishers, a passionate crusader against dishonest government.

Five of the Pulitzer prizes, which also focuses on excellence in journalism, are concerned with literary achievements. These are the Pulitzer prizes for fiction, general non-fiction, biography, history and poetry. Each winner receives a $10,000 cash award.

Pulitzer Prize Categories Fiction | Nonfiction | Poetry | History | Biography

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Prix Aurora Awards

The Prix Aurora Awards are given out annually for the best Canadian science fiction and fantasy literary works, Art Works and Awards for Fan Activities from that year, and are awarded in both English and French. The event is organized by Canvention and the awards are given out by the Canadian SF and Fantasy Association, which began in 1980.

Award categories

Best Long-Form Work in English
Best Short-Form Work in English
Best Work in English (other)
Meilleur livre en français (Best Long-Form Work in French)
Meilleure nouvelle en français (Best Short-Form Work in French)
Meilleur ouvrage en français (autre) (Best Work in French (other))
Fan Achievement (Publication)
Fan Achievement (Organisational)
Fan Achievement (Other)
Artistic Achievement

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Quebec Writers Federation Literary Awards

The Quebec Writers' Federation (QWF) holds an annual juried competition for published books by Quebec authors in six categories:

• Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction
• Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction
• A. M. Klein Prize for Poetry
• McAuslan First Book Prize
• QWF Prize for Children's & Young Adult Literature
• QWF Translation Prize (French and English, with target language alternating each

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Queensland Premiers

The Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were inaugurated in 1999 and have grown to become a leading literary awards program within Australia, with $225 000 in prize money offered across 14 categories: Fiction Book Award $25 000 - Emerging Queensland Author - Manuscript Award $20 000- Unpublished Indigenous Writer - The David Unaipon Award $15 000 - History Book Award $15 000 Non-Fiction Book Award $15 000 - Children's Book - The Dymocks Literacy Foundation Award $15 000 - Young Adult Book Award $15 000 - Science Writer Department of State Development Award $15 000 - Poetry Collection Arts Queensland Judith Wright Calanthe Award $15 000 - Australian Short Story Collection - Arts Queensland Steele Rudd Award $15 000 - Literary or Media Work Advancing Public Debate - The Harry Williams Award $15 000 - Film Script - Pacific Film & Television Commission Award $15 000 - Television Script - QUT Creative Industries Award $15 000 - Drama Script (Stage) Award$15 000

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Romance Book Awards- The RITAS USA

The Romance Writers of America are sponsors of the romance-publishing industry's highest award of distinction — the RITA Award. RITA awards are presented annually to the best published romance novels of the year. The award itself is a golden statuette named after RWA's first president, Rita Clay Estrada, and has become the symbol for the best in published romance fiction.

About the Contest
Up to 1,200 romance novels from 12 different categories are entered each year in the RITA competition. Novels can be entered either by their authors or by the books' publisher. After the first round of judging by fellow published romance authors, the competition narrows to approximately 100 finalists

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Romantic Book of the Year (Australia) The R*bys

The premier award of the Romantic Writers Of Australia, and the only one of its kind in Australia. Voted on by Australian readers, this contest is open to any Australian or New Zealand romance author who writes long or short romance novels..

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Romantic Novel of the Year Award (UK)

The Romantic Novel of the Year is Romantic Novelists Associations major award and is open to all romantic fiction first published in the UK in the current year. The presentation is made at the RNA Awards Luncheon. In previous years this has taken place in April, but in 2008 it is being held in February.

Books all receive three reads from amongst a panel of over a hundred readers who are ordinary members of the public. The readers score the titles on such criteria as romantic content, readability, dialogue, characters, plot, style and setting. The books with the highest scores go on to a longlist and receive a fourth read. When that score has been added, the six books with the highest combined score form the shortlist for the year.

The whole shortlist is read by all the final judges to select the outright winner

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Royal Society for Science Prizes

Set up in 1988 as the "Science Book Prizes", the Royal Society Prizes for Science Books were originally named the Rhône-Poulenc Prizes for Science Books from 1990 - 2000, and the Aventis Prizes for Science Books from 2001 - 2006.

There are two categories: The Junior Prize, which is given to the best book written for under-14s, and the General Prize, for the best book written for a more general readership. Each prize is worth £10,000 to the winning author and £1,000 to the author of each shortlisted book.

The General Prize is chosen by a panel of five judges who select around twelve longlisted and then six shortlisted books and subsequently a winner. For the Junior Prize, initially a panel of five adult judges chooses the longlist and then the shortlist of six books. The task of picking the winner is then handed over to the people who should know best - young people aged up to fourteen in groups across the UK.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature

In 2006, in celebration of Sami Rohr's 80th birthday, his children and grandchildren inaugarated the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature to honor his lifelong love of Jewish writing.

The annual award recognizes the unique role of contemporary writers in the transmission and examination of Jewish values, and is intended to encourage and promote outstanding writing of Jewish interest.

Each year, the prize of $100,000 will aim to reward an emerging writer whose work has demonstrated a fresh vision and evidence of future potential. Recipients must have written a book of exceptional literary merit that stimulates an interest in themes of Jewish concern. Fiction and non-fiction books will be considered in alternate years.

In conjunction with this award, the Rohr family has established the Sami Rohr Jewish Literary Institute, a forum devoted to the continuity of Jewish literature.

The Prize and Institute will be coordinated and administered under the exclusive auspices of the Jewish Book Council. Winners will be selected by an independent panel of judges

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Saltire Society Scottish Literary Awards

The Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award £5000 and
Scottish First Book of the Year Award £1500 (by an author who has not previously published a book) may be given for any book by an author or authors of Scottish descent or living in Scotland, or for any book which deals with the work or life
of a Scot or with a Scottish question, event or situation. The book might
be poetry, a novel, a play or other work of imaginative literature, or biography,
literary criticism or a study of any Scottish issue. Books of multiple authorship
would not normally qualify.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Samuel Johnson (non-fiction)

About the Award The BBC FOUR Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction celebrates originality and diversity in contemporary non-fiction. Named in honour of the great critic, essayist, lexicographer, poet and biographer, the BBC FOUR Samuel Johnson Prize is the world’s richest prize for non-fiction, recognising works published in English in the UK, regardless of the nationality of the author.

Rosie Boycott, the co-founder of Virago Press, Spare Rib magazine, and former editor of the Independent on Sunday, is chairing the judges for the 2008. She has been joined on the judging panel by Claire Armitstead, the Guardian's literary editor, and the poet Daljit Nagra. Also on the panel are the director of the Science Museum, professor Chris Rapley, and the documentary film-maker Hannah Rothschild.The panel judges books in all areas of non-fiction, including current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts.

The prize is worth £30,000 prize to the winner

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Saskatchewan Book Awards

The Saskatchewan Book Awards were established in 1993 by the joint efforts of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild, Saskatchewan Publishers Group and Saskatchewan Library Association. Saskatchewan Book Awards Inc. was incorporated in 1994.

Their mandate is to recognize and celebrate the achievements of Saskatchewan authors and publishers and help promote their books. Awards have been added or changed according to demand and when a sponsor can be found. Leading up to the awards, short list readings help promote nominated books. The awards gala, held toward the end of November, positions winning books for the Christmas market.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Scotiabank Giller Prize

One of the nation's leading book award carrying a CDN$50,000 prize, an exclusive black-tie gala, and guaranteed bestseller status for the winner, the Scotiabank Giller Prize, carries weight. It is certainly up there with the US Nationals, the Pulitzer and the Book Critics as far as quality is concerned- the Canadian equivalent of the Booker in fact.

The award was founded in 1994 by Montreal real estate businessman Jack Rabinovich as a tribute to his late wife, Doris Giller. The prize goes to the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English, and is announced in November.

Beginning in 2005, the award was co-sponsored by Scotiabank and renamed the Scotiabank Giller Prize

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Scottish Arts Council Book Awards

The Scottish Arts Council Book Awards – is Scotland’s richest book awards, and the fourth largest in the UK. The Awards, started in 1970s and have gone from strength to strength, reflecting the growing prominence and prestige of Scottish literature.

Winners of four categories of fiction, literary non-fiction, poetry and first book each receive an award of £5,000, and the opportunity to go forward and have their book considered for the title of Sundial Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year 2008, an accolade which will net the author a total prize of £25,000.

The awards are open to authors of Scottish descent or living in Scotland. Books of particular Scottish interest by other authors are eligible. Consideration is given to recently published work by both new and established writers. Submissions should come from publishers only.Previous winners include James Meek (2006); Kathleen Jamie (2005); James Robertson (2004); William Dalrymple ( 2003); Ali Smith ( 2002).

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

 

Shamus Awards-

The Shamus Awards are given by the Private Eye Writers of America to honor excellence in the PI genre.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Sir Julius Vogel Awards

The Sir Julius Vogel awards are fan voted awards for various endeavours in the science fiction, fantasy or horror fields by New Zealanders. Professional nominations can be for novels, short stories, art and others. Fan nominations can be for fanzine, writing, art, services to fandom, services to science fiction and more. The awards are administered by The Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of New Zealand.

Sir Julius Vogel was a Prime Minister of New Zealand, and wrote in 1889 what was probably the first full length Science Fiction novel by a New Zealander, Anno Domini 2000 - A Woman's Destiny.

This book was strongly centred around New Zealand, and was a utopian view of the future in which women would hold many positions of authority. "Predictions" which have come true.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Somerset-Maugham Awards (under 35's)

The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each May by the Society of Authors. It is awarded to who they judge to be the best writer or writers under the age of thirty-five of a book published in the past year. The prize was instituted in 1947 by William Somerset Maugham and thus bears his name: the award is currently £6000 per winner, to be spent on foreign travel. The total fund for each year is £12000

Since 1964, multiple winners have usually been chosen in the same year. In 1975, the award was not given. The Award has twice been won by the son of a previous winner: Kingsley Amis (winner in 1955) was the father of Martin Amis (1974), and Nigel Kneale (1950) the father of Matthew Kneale (1988).

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Spur Awards- Western Writers of America

The Spur Awards are given annually by the Western Writers of America for distinguished writing about the American West. They are among the oldest and most prestigious in American literature. In 1953, when the awards were established by WWA, western fiction was a staple of American publishing. At the time awards were given to the best western novel, best historical novel, best juvenile, and best short story.

Since then the awards have been broadened to include other types of writing about the West. Today, Spurs are offered for the best western novel (short novel), best novel of the west (long novel), best original paperback novel, best short story, best short nonfiction. Also, best contemporary nonfiction, best biography, best history, best juvenile fiction and nonfiction, best TV or motion picture drama, best TV or motion picture documentary, and best first novel (called The Medicine Pipe Bearer's Award).

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Stanner Award

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) established the Stanner Award in 1985 in recognition of the significant contribution of the late Emer. Professor W.E.H. (Bill) Stanner to the establishment and development of the Institute.

The Stanner Award comprises a certificate and a prize of $1,000 to the author of the successful publication.

One award may be given each year for the best published contribution to Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Studies that is considered by Council to be a significant work of scholarship in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Studies and which reflects the dynamic nature of Professor Stanner’s life and work

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Story Prize (The)

An annual book award honoring the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction with a $20,000 cash award. Each of two runners-up will receive $5,000. Eligible books must be written in English and first published in the United States during a calendar year.

The finalists are announced early in January each year. The 2009 winner is presented with an award and $20,000 at a ceremony at the New School's Tishman Auditorium (66 West 12th Street, New York City) in late March or early February 2010. At the event, the three finalists read from their books and discuss their work on-stage the current Director of The Story Prize.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists

Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic

The Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic is a juried award based on excellence of writing in two categories: adult and young adult. The awards are presented annually to Canadian writers with a speculative fiction novel or book-length collection of speculative fiction published any time during the previous calendar year. Named after the first novel by Phyllis Gotlieb, one of the first published authors of contemporary Canadian science fiction, the awards consist of a cash award of Cdn$1,000 and a medallion which incorporates a specially designed "Sunburst" logo. The winners receive their awards in the fall of every year.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year

Launched 17 years ago, the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year award has become an unfailingly reliable guide to the best new British literary talent. Authors first spotted by the award have gone on to win or be shortlisted for a host of other prizes – the Man Booker (Zadie Smith, Caryl Phillips and Sarah Waters), the Wolfson (William Dalrymple), the Forward (Paul Farley), the TS Eliot (Simon Armitage).

The prize is open to British authors under 35 and is awarded at the Oxford literary festival each year.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

 

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Tasmanian Awards

The Tasmania Book Prizes celebrated works published in the previous two years. In 2005 the inaugural Tasmania Prize was won by David Hansen's John Glover and the Colonial Picturesque.

As a reflection of the growing status and popularity of writing and publishing in Tasmania, a new suite of book prizes has now been established: the Tasmania Book Prize ($25,000), the Margaret Scott Prize ($5000), and the University of Tasmania Prize ($5000).

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year

The Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award is a crime-fiction award, sponsored by Theakston's Old Peculier. It is awarded annually at Harrogate Crime Writing Festival in the UK, held every July. The winner received £3000 and a small hand-carved oak beer cask carved by one of Britain's last coopers.

Novels eligible are those crime novels published in paperback any time during the previous year, thus making the shortlists seem more out-of-date than for most prizes.

It is also the only such crime-fiction award in the UK to be voted for partly by the public. Decisions of a jury-panel are also into into account, a fact not-much publicised by the award organisers, who are keen to emphasize the public-voting aspect of the award

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Toronto Book Awards

Established by Toronto City Council in 1974, The Toronto Book Awards honour authors of books of literary or artistic merit that are evocative of Toronto.

The annual awards offer $15,000 in prize money. Each finalist receives $1,000 and the winning author receives the remaining prize money.
The 2007 winner was Michael Redhill for his novel Consolation published by Doubleday Canada. Previous winners include Margaret Atwood, Kevin Bazzana, David Bezmozgis, Dionne Brand, Sarah Dearing, Robertson Davies, Timothy Findley, Joe Fiorito, Camilla Gibb, Katherine Govier, A.B. McKillop, Anne Michaels, Michael Ondaatje and Kate Taylor

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Trillium Book Awards

The Trillium Book Award is given annually by the government of the Province of Ontario and is open to books in any genre: fiction, non-fiction, drama, children's books, and poetry. Anthologies, new editions, re-issues and translations are not eligible. Three jury members per language judge the submissions, select the shortlist and the winning title. The jury is composed of writers and other members of the literary community.

Canadian citizens and landed immigrants who have lived in Ontario for at least three out of the past five years and who have been published anywhere in the world are eligible. Their publishers are invited to submit titles to the Ministry of Culture for consideration. In 1993 the award was expanded by Bob Rae's government to also include a French language category. In 2003, English and French poetry categories were added to the awards.

The award given to the author of each winning book is $20,000 and their publishers receive $2,500 for the marketing and promotion of the titles.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Vancouver Book Awards

The City of Vancouver Book Award is a $2,000 prize that has been presented annually since 1989 to authors of books in any genre that demonstrate excellence and contribute to the appreciation and understanding of Vancouver’s history, unique character or the achievements of its residents.

The book may be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or drama written for adults or children and may deal with any aspects of the city: history, geography, current affairs, or the arts. The winning book must also exhibit excellence in content, illustration, design, and/or format.

The prize is funded by interest earned from the City’s Publishing Reserve which was established in 1977 as a permanent legacy for writers and publishers. The fund received royalties generated from Vancouver’s First Century: a photo history of Vancouver edited by City staff. The third edition of the book, renamed Vancouver: A City Album, for many years generated royalty payments for the fund.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Victorian Premier's Literary Awards

The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards were established in 1985 by John Cain, the Premier of Victoria at that time, to mark the centenary of the births of Vance and Nettie Palmer - distinguished writers and critics who made significant contributions to Victorian and Australian literary culture. The current Premier, John Brumby (left) will dispense a generous $195,000 in prize money in 2008. Awards are given across 12 categories.

In 1997 the administration of the awards was transferred to the State Library of Victoria.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Wales Book of the Year

Wales Book of the Year prizes are awarded annually to the best Welsh and English language works in the fields of fiction and literary criticism by Welsh or Welsh interest authors.

Established in 1992, the awards are currently administered by the Academi, and supported by the Arts Council of Wales, Welsh Assembly Government and the Welsh Books Council. In 2006, the prizes were each £10,000. In 2007, for the first time, four runners-up (two in each language) also each received £1000

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Waverley Library Award for Literature

The CAL Waverley Library Award for Literature. Known affectionately as the 'The Nib', is Australia's premier literary award acknowledging excellence in research by Australian authors writing literary works. The award is now in its 7th year, and with a new sponsor, Copyright Agency Limited’s (CAL) Cultural Fund providing increased prize money. Good on CAL for supporting an important award in an important literary niche. Waverley is a local council located in the major Australian City of Sydney.

WA Premier's Literary Awards

Annual literary awards were inaugurated by the Western Australian Government in 1982 to honour and celebrate the literary achievements of Western Australian writers. Until 1990 they were called the WA Week Literary Awards. They are now known as the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards The Awards have the following categories:

* Fiction * Poetry* Scripts* Non-fiction* Children's Books* Young Adults

Works that make a major contribution to the understanding of Western Australia's past will also be eligible for the West Australian History Award. Prize-money of $7,500 is awarded to winners in each category and all category winners, and the winner of the West Australian History Award, will be eligible to win the Premier's Prize of $20,000.

Last year's winner, of the Premiers Prize, Shaun Tan's The Arrival, has gone on to win many more more prizes both here and internationally

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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Wolfson History Prize

The Wolfson History Prizes are given annually by the Wolfson Foundation. Usually two books are awarded the prize, but occasionally a sort of lifetime achievement award is given for an author's body of work. The prize was established in 1972 to promote excellence in the writing of history that is accessible to the general public. For a book to be considered for the prize, it must be published in the United Kingdom by a British author. The awards are granted in the summer following the year of publication. So the prizes for 2007 will be awarded in the summer of 2008.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

World Fantasy-

The World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy. Since 1975, when they were first awarded, they have been handed out at the World Fantasy Convention.

The book awards awards are considered among the most prestigious in the speculative fiction genre, and can be awarded to any work falling within the realm of fantasy. Winners are chosen from groups of nominees (generally five or six per category), also selected largely by the judges, with two picked by members of the annual WFC. Categories include, or have included: Novel; Novella (10,001 to 40,000 words); Short Fiction (under 10,000 words);Anthology Collection; Artist. Special Awards include: the Convention Award; Life Achievement; Special Award: Professional; Special Award: Non-Professional.

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

Writers's League of Texas

The Writers' League of Texas sponsors the Annual Violet Crown Book Award to honor outstanding books published each year. The name of the Violet Crown award comes from an O. Henry phrase describing Austin as "the city of the Violet Crown."

The League also sponsors the Teddys Children Award.

More details of past and presnet winners and shortlists

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Writers's Trust of Canada Awards

Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, David Young, and the late Margaret Laurence, the Writers' Trust of Canada was incorporated under a federal charter and registered as a national non-profit organization in 1976. A unique charitable organization, the Writers’ Trust provides a level of financial support to writers unmatched by any other non-governmental organization. Through its various initiatives, the Writers’ Trust celebrates and rewards the talents and achievements of Canada’s novelists, short story writers, poets, biographers, and other non-fiction writers.

The Trust oversees a number of literary awards. In addition to those listed below the Trust offers the Writers' Trust Award for Distinguished Contribution and Writers’ Trust Notable Author Award.

• Matt Cohen Prize - In Celebration of a Writing Life
• The Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize
• The Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize
• The Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature
• The Writers' Trust of Canada/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize
• Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing
• Timothy Findley Award
  

More details of past and present winners and shortlists.

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