List of literary awards

Last updated July 17, 2025

This list of literary awards from around the world is an index to articles about notable literary awards.

International awards
All nationalities and multiple languages eligible
Awards by language
Arabic
Bengali
Chinese
English
German
Gujarati
Hebrew
Italian
Kannada
Malayalam
Marathi
Meitei (Manipuri)
Odia
Polish
Portuguese
Spanish
Tamil
Awards by region
African
Asian
Caribbean literature
Commonwealth
European Union
Nordic
Awards by country
American literature
Australian literature
Austrian literature
Bangladesh literature
Botswana literature
Brazilian literature
British literature
Bulgarian literature
Canadian literature
Chilean literature
Chinese literature
Costa Rican literature
Croatian language
Czech literature
Dutch literature
Ecuadorian literature
Estonian literature
Finnish literature
French literature
Georgian literature
German literature
Hungarian literature
Icelandic literature
Indian literature
Indonesian literature
Iranian literature
Irish literature
Israeli literature
Italian literature
Japanese literature
Luxembourgian literature
Malaysian literature
Mexican literature
Nepalese Literature
New Zealand literature
Nigerian literature
Norwegian literature
Philippine literature
Polish literature
Portuguese literature
Russian literature
Serbian literature
Singaporean literature
Slovene literature
South African literature
South Korean literature
Spanish literature
Sri Lankan literature
Swedish literature
Swiss literature
Thai literature
Turkish literature
Ukrainian literature
Venezuelan literature
Zimbabwean literature
Awards by genres
Children's literature
Food and drink
History
Horror fiction
Military fiction and military history
Mystery: crime fiction and detective fiction
Romance fiction
Speculative fiction (science fiction and fantasy)
Sports
Biography
Miscellaneous
Awards for literary translation
Awards for literary criticism
See also
References

International awards

All nationalities and multiple languages eligible

Nobel Prize in Literature – since 1901
Hugo Award – since 1953
Golden Wreath of Struga Poetry Evenings – since 1966
Neustadt International Prize for Literature – since 1970
International Botev Prize – since 1972
Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year – since 1978
Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service – since 1979
America Award – since 1994
Balint Balassi Memorial Sword Award – since 1997
Franz Kafka Prize – since 2001
Ovid Prize – since 2002
Dayton Literary Peace Prize – since 2006
European Union Prize for Literature – since 2009
Jan Michalski Prize – since 2009
The Paris Literary Prize – since 2010
KONS International Literary Award – since 2011
Grand Prix of Literary Associations (English, French, and Spanish) – since 2013
Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award – since 2013
Europese Literatuurprijs (European Literature Award) – since 2011
Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award – since 2003

Awards by language

Arabic

Bengali

Chinese

English

German

Georg Büchner Prize – for the overall literary oeuvre
Sigmund Freud Prize – for scientific prose
German Book Prize – for the best German language novel of the year
Leipzig Book Fair Prize – in three categories: fiction, non-fiction, and translation
Ingeborg Bachmann Prize
Aspekte-Literaturpreis (Aspekte Literature Prize) – for the best debut novel written in German
Kleist Prize – first awarded in 1912
Merano Poetry Prize – established in 1993 for poetry
International Literature Award - established in 2009 for international prose translated into German

Gujarati

Kumar Suvarna Chandrak
Narmad Suvarna Chandrak
Premanand Suvarna Chandrak
Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak
Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar
Yuva Gaurav Puraskar (conferred to young authors)

Hebrew

Italian

Kannada

Malayalam

Polish

Portuguese

Camões Prize
Prémio Leya
Portugal Telecom Prize for Literature (from 2007 onwards)
São Paulo Prize for Literature

Spanish

Tamil

Vishnupuram Award

Awards by region

African

Asian

Man Asian Literary Prize
DSC Prize for South Asian Literature
SAARC Literary Award
Kiriyama Prize – for books about the Pacific Rim and South Asia; 1996–2008
Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Literature Award

Caribbean literature

Commonwealth

Booker Prize – winners and shortlisted authors
Commonwealth Short Story Prize
Commonwealth Writers' Prize (discontinued)
Encore Award – since 1990
John Llewellyn Rhys Prize

European Union

Nordic

Nordic Council's Literature Prize
Prisma

Awards by country

American literature

Australian literature

ACT Book of the Year
Aurealis Award – awarded annually for Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction
The Australian/Vogel Literary Award – for unpublished manuscripts by writers under the age of 35
Chief Minister's Northern Territory Book History Awards
Miles Franklin Award – for the best Australian published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards
Patrick White Award
Prime Minister's Literary Awards
Queensland Premier's Literary Awards
South Australian Literary Awards
Tasmanian Premier's Literary Prizes
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards

Austrian literature

Bangladesh literature

Bangla Academy Award

Botswana literature

Bessie Head Literature Awards

Brazilian literature

British literature

Authors' Club Best First Novel Award
Baillie Gifford Prize
Betty Trask Prize and Awards
Booker Prize
British Book Awards – the "Nibbies"
Chancellor's Gold Medal
Commonwealth Short Story Prize
Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Dundee International Book Prize
Duff Cooper Prize
Forward Prizes for Poetry
Hawthornden Prize
International Rubery Book Award
James Tait Black Memorial Prize
John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
Meyer-Whitworth Award
Newdigate Prize
Orwell Prize
PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize
SI Leeds Literary Prize
Somerset Maugham Award
T. S. Eliot Prize
Waverton Good Read Award
Women's Prize for Fiction
Costa Book Awards (discontinued in 2021)
Marsh Biography Award – awarded biennially for the best biography written by a British author first published in the UK during the two preceding years.
Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation – recognises the best translation of a children’s book from a foreign language into English and published in the UK.

Bulgarian literature

Vick Prize

Canadian literature

Chilean literature

Chilean National Prize for Literature

Chinese literature

Costa Rican literature

Premio Editorial Costa Rica

Croatian language

Czech literature

Magnesia Litera Prize

Dutch literature

Libris Literatuur Prijs

Ecuadorian literature

Estonian literature

Finnish literature

Finlandia Prize for literature
Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize
Runeberg Prize for literature
Thanks for the Book Award for literature

Georgian literature

Shota Rustaveli State Prize

German literature

Bertelsmann-Preisausschreiben
Bertolt-Brecht-Literaturpreis
Candide Preis – German-French literary award in memory of Voltaire's novella Candide – since 1995
Carl Zuckmayer Medal – annual literary prize awarded by the state of Rhineland Palatinate in memory of Carl Zuckmayer
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
Fontane Prize of the City of Neuruppin
German Book Prize – awarded annually during the Frankfurt Book Fair for the best German language novel of the year
Georg Büchner Prize – awarded annually by the Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung in memory of Georg Büchner
Goethe Prize – awarded triennially by the city of Frankfurt in memory of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; since 1927
Hanseatic Goethe Prize
Heinrich Heine Prize
Hermann-Hesse-Preis
Hans Fallada Prize – biennial literary prize in memory of Hans Fallada
Heinrich Mann Prize
Hermann Kesten Medal
Ingeborg Bachmann Prize (Austrian)
Kassel Literary Prize
Kleist Prize
Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis – annual science fiction award in memory of Kurd Laßwitz, inspired by the American Nebula Award
Leipzig Book Fair Prize
Merck Kakehashi Literature Prize
Nelly Sachs Prize
Roswitha Prize
Schiller Memorial Prize
Toucan Prize

Hungarian literature

Balint Balassi Memorial Sword Award – for poets and translators; since 1997
Baumgarten Prize
Kossuth Prize

Icelandic literature

Icelandic Literary Prize

Indian literature

Jnanpith Award
Sahitya Akademi Award
Pampa Award
Saraswati Samman
Kalaimamani Award
Yuva Puraskar (conferred to young authors)
Vinda Karandikar Jeevan Gaurav Puraskar
Jibanananda Das Award
Tagore Award
Assam Valley Literary Award
All India Poetry Prize

Indonesian literature

Jakarta Arts Council Novel Competition

Iranian literature

Irish literature

Israeli literature

Italian literature

Japanese literature

Akutagawa Prize
Bungei Prize
Dazai Osamu Prize
Edogawa Rampo Prize
Honkaku Mystery Award
Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature (Izumi Kyōka Bungaku Shō)
Kikuchi Kan Prize (Kan Kikuchi Shō)
Mishima Yukio Prize
Mystery Writers of Japan Award
Naoki Prize (Naoki Sanjūgo Shō)
Noma Prize for Literature
Ōe Kenzaburō Prize
Sense of Gender Awards – since 2001
Tanizaki Prize
Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize
Yomiuri Prize for Literature

Luxembourgian literature

Malaysian literature

Mexican literature

Nepalese Literature

Madan Puraskar

New Zealand literature

Esther Glen Award – for children's literature
Joy Cowley Award – for children's literature
Sir Julius Vogel Award – for science fiction and fantasy
New Zealand Post Book Awards
Ngaio Marsh Award
Margaret Mahy Award
Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement

Nigerian literature

Norwegian literature

Polish literature

Portuguese literature

Prémio Camões

Russian literature

Serbian literature

Singaporean literature

Slovene literature

South Korean literature

Spanish literature

Sri Lankan literature

Swedish literature

Augustpriset
De Nios Stora Pris
Best Swedish Crime Novel Award – awarded by Swedish Crime Writers' Academy

Swiss literature

Thai literature

Turkish literature

Ukrainian literature

Shevchenko National Prize – since 1961

Venezuelan literature

Adriano González León Biennial Novel Prize

Zimbabwean literature

National Arts Merit Awards

Awards by genres

Children's literature

Newbery Medal and Newbery Honor (USA) – since 1922
Carnegie Medal (UK) – since 1936
Caldecott Medal and Caldecott Honor (USA) for illustration – since 1938
Children's Book Council of Australia Awards (Australia) – since 1946
Governor General's Award for English language children's literature (Canada) – since 1949
Jane Addams Children's Book Award (USA) – since 1953
Children's Literature Legacy Award (USA) – since 1954, formerly the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal
Hans Christian Andersen Award (international) – since 1956
Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration (UK) – since 1956
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (Germany/international) – since 1956
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (USA) – since 1957
Nienke van Hichtum-prijs (Netherlands) – since 1964
Guardian Award (UK) – since 1967
Sydney Taylor Book Award for Jewish children's and teen literature – since 1968
Coretta Scott King Award for African-American Literature (USA) – since 1970
Tir na n-Og Awards (Wales, UK) – since 1976
Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (UK) – 1985–2007
Prix Sorcières (France) – since 1986
Governor General's Award for French language children's literature (Canada) – since 1987
KPMG Children's Books Ireland Awards (Ireland) – since 1990
Gelett burgess children's book award (USA) – since 2010
Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers' Literature (USA) – since 1991
The Eilis Dillon Award (Ireland) – since 1995
Angus Book Award (UK) – since 1996
Pura Belpré Award for Latino literature (USA) – since 1996
Marsh Award for Children’s Literature in Translation (UK) – since 1996
Children's Laureate (UK) – since 1999
Michael L. Printz Award for young adult literature (USA) – since 2000
Sibert Medal for informational books (USA) – since 2001
Mildred L. Batchelder Award (USA)
Super Dash Novel Rookie of the Year Award (Japan) – since 2001
Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (international) – since 2003
NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature – since 2003

Food and drink

Langhe Ceretto Prize (international) – since 1991

History

Cundill History Prize for historical non-fiction – since 2008
Duff Cooper Prize — since 1956
Wolfson History Prize – since 1972

Horror fiction

Bram Stoker Award – for superior achievement in horror writing, since 1987
Shirley Jackson Award – for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and the dark fantastic, since 2007.
Lord Ruthven Award – for the best fiction on vampires and the best academic work on the study of the vampire figure in culture and literature – since 1989

Military fiction and military history

Colby Award for a first work of fiction or nonfiction – since 1999
Pritzker Military Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing – since 2007
W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction – since 1997

Mystery: crime fiction and detective fiction

Romance fiction

Speculative fiction (science fiction and fantasy)

Hugo Award – since 1955
Nebula Award – since 1965
Ditmar Award (Australia) – since 1969
BSFA award – since 1970
Seiun Award – since 1970
Locus Award – since 1971
Mythopoeic Awards – awards for the best of mythic fantasy, following in the tradition of J. R. R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis – since 1971
Prix Tour-Apollo Award – since 1972
John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel – since 1973
John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction – since 1973
World Fantasy Award – since 1975
Paul Harland Prize (Netherlands) – since 1976
Prometheus Award – best Libertarian SF – since 1979
Nihon SF Taisho Award – since 1980
Prix Aurora Award (Canada) – since 1980
Prix Rosny-Aîné (France) – since 1980
Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis (Germany) – since 1981
Philip K. Dick Award – since 1982
Compton Crook Award – best first-time novel in genre in a year, since 1983
Janusz A. Zajdel Award (Poland) – since 1984
Writers of the Future – contest for new authors, since 1985
Tähtivaeltaja Award (Finland) – since 1986
Arthur C. Clarke Award – since 1987
Japan Fantasy Novel Award – since 1989
Sir Julius Vogel Award (New Zealand) – since 1989
Urania Award (Italy) – since 1989
SFRA Pioneer Award – best critical essay-length work, since 1990
Tiptree award – since 1991
Chandler Award (Australia) – since 1992
Sidewise Award for Alternate History – since 1995
Aurealis Award (Australia) – since 1995
Thomas D. Clareson Award for Distinguished Service – promotion of SF teaching and study, etc., since 1996
Endeavour Award (Pacific Northwest) – since 1999
Nautilus Award (Poland) – since 2003
WSFA Small Press Award – since 2007
Tähtifantasia Award (Finland) – since 2007
Kitschies (UK) – since 2009
Ignyte Awards – since 2023.

Sports

General

Baseball

CASEY Award (US)
Seymour Medal (US)

Biography

Marsh Biography Award – awarded biennially for the best biography written by a British author and first published in the UK during the two preceding years.

Miscellaneous

Goodreads Choice Awards

Awards for literary translation

Gregory Kolovakos Award – PEN America : U.S. literary translator, editor, or critic whose work ... extends Gregory Kolovakos's commitment to the richness of Hispanic literature and to expanding its English-language audience
PEN Translation Prize – awarded annually for a translation from any language into English.
Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize – awarded annually for a book-length translation from any language into English.
Rossica Translation Prize – awarded biennially by Academia Rossica ^[1] to a translation from Russian into English.
National Book Award for Translated Literature – awarded annually for a fiction or non-fiction translation from any language into English by the National Book Award
National Translation Award – annual prize awarded by the American Literary Translators Association ^[2]
Popescu Prize – awarded biennially for a translation of poetry from a European language into English. Awarded by the Poetry Society.
Willis Barnstone Translation Prize – annually awarded to a translation of a poem from any language into English.
Scott Moncrieff Prize – awarded annually for French to English translation.
Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation – awarded annually for Arabic to English literary translation.
Sol Plaatje Prize for Translation – awarded for a translation of prose or poetry into English from any other of the South African official languages.
Rossica Young Translators Prize – open to submissions from translators aged under 25, awarded annually for the translation of a passage of contemporary fiction from Russian into English.^[3]
Harvill Secker Young Translators Prize – open to submissions from translators aged between 18 and 34, awarded annually, focusing on a different language every year.^[4]
International Dublin Literary Award – since 1996
Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator's Prize – since 1996
Warwick Prize for Women in Translation

Awards for literary criticism

Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing – awarded annually for literary criticism as one of the National Book Critics Circle Awards.
Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism – awarded annually for literary criticism by the University of Iowa on behalf of the Truman Capote Literary Trust.
Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Literary Criticism – awarded to Malayalam language literary criticism, as a category of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award ^[5]^[6]

References

↑ "Rossica Translation prize". Archived from the original on 2013-10-24. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
↑ "ALTA". Archived from the original on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
↑ "Rossica Young Translators Award". Archived from the original on 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
↑ "Harvill Secker Young Translators' Prize". Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
↑ "Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award" Archived 2013-04-26 at the Wayback Machine (in Malayalam). Kerala Sahitya Akademi. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
↑ "Literary Awards" Archived 2012-06-18 at the Wayback Machine . Government of Kerala. Retrieved 28 April 2014.

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[1] "Rossica Translation prize". Archived from the original on 2013-10-24. Retrieved 2013-10-30.

[2] "ALTA". Archived from the original on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2013-10-30.

[3] "Rossica Young Translators Award". Archived from the original on 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2013-10-30.

[4] "Harvill Secker Young Translators' Prize". Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2013-10-30.

[5] "Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award" Archived 2013-04-26 at the Wayback Machine (in Malayalam). Kerala Sahitya Akademi. Retrieved 28 April 2014.

[6] "Literary Awards" Archived 2012-06-18 at the Wayback Machine . Government of Kerala. Retrieved 28 April 2014.

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