Current Book Award Winners
While publishing often puts its money and marketing behind less diverse books, many book awards are designed to recognize and amplify the voices and stories of lesser known authors and lesser known books. In addition, the cash prizes and publicity involved help writers support themselves and move towards being able to write full time, which is not a reality for most authors.
This page is a list of current major (and some minor) book award winners. It is updated every few months (hopefully) to reflect recent winners. Enjoy!
You might notice that the list below only includes a couple of children’s book awards. While these are important, there are simply too many to include them all. However, if you are looking for diverse children’s books, you click HERE and HERE for a more comprehensive list.
I have also focused primarily on general fiction and nonfiction awards, as those are the books that I am drawn to, although there are a lot more awards out there that recognize unpublished work, poetry and much more! Many of the prizes below do also have poetry awards specifically, but for the interest of time (and personal interest), I have not included those below.
Major Book Awards – Fiction
While the awards in this category do not explicitly highlight diverse authors or books, they do strive to find the “best” books out there, which often include a number of diverse authors, although the number of diverse awards below also indicate that these books can overlook some voices!
The Booker Prize: The Booker Prize was established as the Booker-McConnell Prize in 1969, and marked its 50th anniversary in 2018. Historically, it was only open to writers from the British Commonwealth, but was opened to any author writing in English in 2014.
This prize is usually released in the fall, awarding books released in the previous year
2023 Winner – Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
2022 Winner – The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
2021 Winner – The Promise by Damon Galgut
2020 Winner – Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
2019 Winner – The Testaments by Margaret Atwood and Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
The National Book Award – Fiction: The National Book Awards are an American book award “whose mission is to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of great writing in America.”
The fiction award is awarded annually and is announced in November for books released the previous year.
2023 Winner –Blackouts by Justin Torres
2022 Winner – The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty
2021 Winner – Hell of a Book by Jason Mott
2020 Winner – Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
2019 Winner – Trust Excercise by Susan Choi
PEN/Jean Stein Book Award: This is an annual award which “recognizes a book-length work of any genre for its originality, merit, and impact that has broken new ground by reshaping the boundaries of its form and signaling strong potential for lasting influence.”
It is part of the annual PEN American Awards, which are released in the February for books released the previous year.
2023 Winner – Dr. No by Percival Everett
2022 Winner – The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nation’s Neglect of a Deadly Disease by Daisy Hernández (non-fiction)
2021 Winner – Be Holding: A Poem by Ross Gay (poetry)
2020 Winner – Where Reasons End by Yiyun Li
Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize: This prize recognizes Canadian writers of exceptional talent for the year’s best novel or short story collection.
This prize is awarded in November for books published from October 1 of the previous year to September 30 of the current year (the 2022 prize was awarded to a book published between October 1st 2021 and September 30th 2022).
2023 Winner – In The Upper Country by Kai Thomas
2022 Winner – Some Hellish by Nicholas Herring
2021 Winner – The Strangers by Katherena Vermette
2020 Winner – Ridgerunner by Gil Adamson
2019 Winner – Days by Moonlight by André Alexis
The Miles Franklin Award: The Miles Franklin Literary Award is Australia’s most prestigious literature prize. Established through the will of My Brilliant Career author, Miles Franklin, the prize is awarded each year to a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases.
The award is announced in July for books released the previous year.
2023 Winner – Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran
2022 Winner – Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down
2021 Winner – The Labyrinth by Amanda Lohrey
2020 Winner – The Yield by Tara June Winch
2019 Winner – Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko
The Pulitzer Prize – Fiction: Established in 1917, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, but often have a multicultural focus.
Awards are announced in April and awarded to books published during the preceding calendar year.
2023 Winner – Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and Trust by Hernan Diaz
2022 Winner – The Netanyahus: An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family by Joshua Cohen
2021 Winner – The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
2020 Winner – The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
The British Book Awards (The Nibbies): Launched in 2020, but renamed in 2017, The British Book Awards, aka The Nibbies, celebrate books in the UK by UK writers.
Awards are given in May to books published in the previous year.
2023 Winner – Babel by R.F. Kuang
2022 Winner – Sorrow & Bliss by Meg Mason
2021 Winner – Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
2020 Winner – Girl, Woman, Other – Bernardine Evaristo
Major Book Awards – Nonfiction
While the major fiction awards get most of the press, I am actually more interested in what non-fiction books are being recognized in a given year. The short lists and winners of these prizes say so much about our current fixations and obsessions, and are often really fun rabbit holes.
PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award: This award celebrates writing that exemplifies literary excellence on the subject of the physical or biological sciences and communicates complex scientific concepts to a lay audience. This is the only PEN award open to publishers outside the United States.
It is part of the annual PEN American Awards, which are released in February for books released the previous year.
2023 Winner – Heartbreak by Florence Williams
2022 Winner – Fox & I by Catherine Raven
2021 Winner – Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl by Jonathan C. Slaght
2020 Winner – Mama’s Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves by Frans de Waal
PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction: This is an annual award that celebrates the author of a distinguished book of general nonfiction possessing notable literary merit and critical perspective that illuminates important contemporary issues and that has been published in the United States during the previous calendar year.
It is part of the annual PEN American Awards, which are released in February for books released the previous year.
2023 Winner – The Inheritors: An Intimate Portrait of South Africa’s Racial Reckoning by Eve Fairbanks
2022 Winner – All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family’s Keepsake by Tiya Miles
2021 Winner – Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Riotous Black Girls, Troublesome Women, and Queer Radicals by Saidiya Hartman
Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction: is given annually for excellence in the category of literary nonfiction, which includes essays, history, biography, memoir, commentary, and criticism. The winning book demonstrates a distinctive voice, as well as a persuasive and compelling command of tone, narrative, style, and technique.
This prize is awarded in November for books published from October 1 of the previous year to September 30 of the current year (the 2022 prize was awarded to a book published between October 1st 2021 and September 30th 2022).
2023 Winner – Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe
2022 Winner – The Invisible Siege: The Rise of Coronaviruses and the Search for a Cure by Dan Werb
2021 Winner – Permanent Astonishment by Tomson Highway
2020 Winner – Two Trees Make a Forest by Jessica J Lee
2019 Winner – Older Sister. Not Necessarily Related. by Jenny Heijun Wills
National Book Award – Nonfiction: The National Book Awards are an American book award “whose mission is to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of great writing in America.”
The non-fiction award is awarded annually and is announced in November.
2023 Winner – The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History by Ned Blackhawk
2022 Winner – South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry
2021 Winner – All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family’s Keepsake by Tiya Miles
2020 Winner – The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X by Les and Tamara Payne
2019 Winner – The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
The Pulitzer Prize – General Nonfiction: Established in 1917, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction recognizes distinguished nonfiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during the preceding calendar year that is not eligible for consideration in another category (History, Biography, etc.)
Awards are announced in April and awarded to books published during the preceding calendar year.
2023 Winner – His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa
2022 Winner – Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City by Andrea Elliott
2021 Winner – Wilmington’s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy by David Zucchino
2020 Winner – The Undying by Anne Boyer and The End of the Myth by Greg Grandin
Awards Specific to Genre or Format
I am a self professed lover of fantasy, science fiction and mystery, but I think these are interesting for everyone, particularly because they are a great way to find entry points into unfamiliar genres. In addition, we read in so many different formats now (about 30% of all book sales are now audiobooks) and since these reading experiences are unique, the awards related to them should be to.
Audie Awards – Audiobook of the Year: The Audie Awards recognize distinction in audiobooks and spoken word entertainment and are sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association. The Audies have 24 separate categories that you can check out on their site, but we will only be highlighting Audiobook of the Year here.
2023 Winner – Finding Me, written and narrated by Viola Davis
2022 Winner – Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, narrated by Ray Porter
2021 Winner – Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor
2020 Winner – The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff, narrated by a Full 45-Person Cast with Holter Graham
The Eisner Awards: Named for acclaimed comics creator Will Eisner, the awards aim to bring attention to and highlight the best publications and creators in comics and graphic novels. Winners are determined by judges and votes from professionals within the industry. Like many of the awards here, there are too many categories to list, so I have included some that might appeal to both comic book lovers and newbies.
These awards are presented each summer for work published in the previous year.
2023:
Best New Series: Public Domain by Chip Zdarsky
Best Graphic Album/Novel (New): The Night Eaters, Book 1: She Eats the Night by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda
Best Adaptation from Another Medium: Chivalry by Neil Gaiman adapted by Colleen Doran
2022:
Best New Series: The Nice House on the Lake by James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno
Best Graphic Album/Novel (New): Monsters by Barry Windsor-Smith
Best Adaptation from Another Medium: George Orwell’s 1984: The Graphic Novel adapted by Fido Nesti
2021:
Best New Series: Black Widow by Kelly Thompson and Elena Casagrande
Best Graphic Album/Novel (New): Pulp by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
Best Adaptation from Another Medium: Superman Smashes the Klan adapted by Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru
2020:
Best New Series: Invisible Kingdom by G. Willow Wilson and Christian Ward
Best Graphic Album (New): Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden
Best Adaptation from Another Medium: Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran
The Hugo Awards: Awarded by the World Science Fiction Society, the Hugo Awards are the Emmys of the Science Fiction and Fantasy community, with awards going to books, TV shows and more and winners being decided by members of the society, who are often readers. The categories I will be highlighting are Best Novel and Best Graphic Story.
Awards are announced late summer/early fall for books released the previous year.
2023:
Best Novel: Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
Best Novella: Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire
Best Graphic Story: Cyberpunk 2077: Big City Dreams by Bartosz Sztybor, Filipe Andrade, Alessio Fioriniello, Roman Titov, Krzysztof Ostrowski
2022:
Best Novel: A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
Best Novella: A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers
Best Graphic Story: Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin illustrated by Jamal Campbell
2021:
Best Novel: Network Effect by Martha Wells
Best Novella: The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
Best Graphic Story: Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings
2020:
Best Novel: A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
Best Graphic Story: LaGuardia by Nnedi Okorafor, art by Tana Ford, colours by James Devlin
The Nebulas: The Nebula Awards are voted on and presented by the active members of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc to honor the best Science Fiction and Fanatsy books of the year. In contrast to the Hugo awards, these are decided by writers instead of readers.
These awards are presented in May of every year for books published in the previous year.
2023 Winner – Babel by R.F. Kuang
2022 Winner – A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
2021 Winner – Network Effect by Martha Wells
2020 Winner – A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker
The Edgar Awards: Each spring, Mystery Writers of America present the Edgar Awards, widely acknowledged to be the most prestigious awards in the mystery genre.
These awards are handed out in April, and while they have many categories, the winner below won in “Best Novel”.
2023 Winner – Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
2022 Winner – Five Decembers by James Kestrel
2021 Winner – Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara
2020 Winner – The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
The Orwell Prizes: The Orwell Prizes aim to encourage good writing and thinking about politics. Awards are given to writing that meets Orwell’s own ambition ‘to make political writing into an art’ and are of equal excellence in style and content, with writing that is both political and artful.
These awards are handed out in a couple categories, including a “Political Fiction” category that makes this award a fun genre-related one to keep an eye on.
While some of these categories are specific to the United Kingdom, the categories below include American authors as well. Awards are announced during the summer at the Orwell festival.
2022:
Political Writing (Book): Show Me The Bodies by Peter Apps
Political Fiction: The New Life by Tom Crewe
2022:
Political Writing (Book): My Fourth Time, We Drowned by Sally Hayden
Political Fiction: Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
2021:
Political Writing (Book): Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition and Compromise in Putin’s Russia by Joshua Yaffa
Political Fiction: Summer by Ali Smith
2020:
Political Writing (Book): Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy
Political Fiction: The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
The National Outdoor Book Awards: The purpose of the awards is to recognize and encourage outstanding writing and publishing. Each fall in early November, the NOBA Foundation announces the winners of the ten categories. Books must be full length books related to outdoor recreation or nature writing, and released between June of the previous year and September of the current year.
They also have an “Outdoor Classic Award” for a book more than 10 years old that has has a lasting effect, which is a great idea!
2023:
Journeys: Hidden Mountains: Survival and Reckoning After a Climb Gone Wrong by Michael Wejchert
Outdoor Literature: Battle of Ink and Ice by Darrell Hartman and What an Owl Knows by Jennifer Ackerman
Natural History Literature: Wild New World: The Epic Story of Animals & People in America by Dan Flores and The Killer Whale Journals: Our Love and Fear of Orcas by Hanne Strager.
Nature Guides: Sam Thayer’s Field Guide to Edible Plants of Eastern & Central North America by Samuel Thayer
Outdoor Classic Winner: Everest: The West Ridge by Thomas F. Hornbein
2022:
Journeys: This Land of Snow: A Journey Across the North in Winter by Anders Morley
Outdoor Literature: Breathless by Amy McCulloch
Natural History Literature: A Thousand Trails Home: Living with Caribou by Seth Kantner
Nature Guides: Common Bees of Eastern North America by Olivia Messinger Carril and Joseph S. Wilson
Outdoor Classic Winner: Camp 4: Recollections of a Yosemite Rockclimber by Steve Roper
2021:
Journeys: Halcyon Journey: In Search of the Belted Kingfisher by Marina Richie
Outdoor Literature: Lookout: Love, Solitude and Searching for Wildfire in the Boreal Forest by Trina Moyles, The Unreasonable Virtue of Fly Fishing by Mark Kurlansky and Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201 Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration by Sara Dykman
Natural History Literature: Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Suzanne Simard and Super Fly: The Unexpected Lives of the World’s Most Successful Insects by Jonathan Balcombe
Nature Guides: A Field Guide to the Mid-Atlantic Coast by Patrick J. Lynch
Outdoor Classic Winner: Sierra South / Sierra North by Elizabeth Wenk and Mike White
Regional or Small Publisher Awards
One of the biggest unspoken issues in the publishing industry in the English-speaking world is the way that the “big 5” publishers (Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster) have a monopoly on the publishing industry. This came to a head in 2022 when a merger between Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster was actually blocked to concerns over monopoly-levels of control.
Almost all of the books you will see in major award categories come from one of these publishers. Therefore, it is helpful to have awards the seek to find the best of the books being published by smaller presses and in specific regions.
IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award: This award, which includes over fifty categories recognizing excellence in book editorial and design, is regarded as one of the highest national honors for independent publishers. To keep things varied, I included the audio-book, general fiction, and new voices awards.
Awards are announced in May for books released in the previous year.
2023:
Fiction – General: The Lives of Diamond Bessie: A Novel by Jody Hadlock
Audiobook – Fiction: ReInception by Sarena Straus, narrated by Arielle DeLisle
Best New Voice – Fiction: Death Warrant by Bryan Johnston
2022:
Fiction – General: My Good Son by Yang Huang
Audiobook – Fiction: The Girl in the Corn by Jason Offutt, narrated by Josh Bloomberg
Best New Voice – Fiction: The Ghosts of Thorwald Place by Helen Power
2021:
Fiction – General: Valiant Savage: A Peter Savage Novel by Dave Edlund
Audiobook – Fiction: Megge of Bury Down: The Bury Down Chronicles, Book One by Rebecca Kightlinger, narrated by Jan Cramer
Best New Voice: Fiction: Far Away Bird by Douglas A. Burton
2020:
Popular Fiction: Give by Erica C. Witsell
Audiobook – Nonfiction: Palm Trees on the Hudson: A True Story of the Mob, Judy Garland, and Interior Decorating by Elliot Tiber
Audiobook – Fiction: The Dare: Friends, Family, and Other Eerie Mysteries by Cynthea Liu
Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards: This award honors the very best of indie publishing each year because independent presses and authors are publishing some of the most innovative, creative, and beautiful books.
This award is announced in June for books published in the previous year. Unlike other books, the award year is the year the book was published, not the year it was written.
2022:
Editor’s Choice Prize Fiction: Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov, translated by Boris Dralyuk
Editor’s Choice Prize Nonfiction: Woman, Watching by Merilyn Simonds
2021:
Editor’s Choice Prize Fiction: Nazaré by JJ Amaworo Wilson
Editor’s Choice Prize Nonfiction: A Salad Only the Devil Would Eat by Charles Hood
2020:
Editor’s Choice Prize Fiction: Above Us the Milky Way by Fowzia Karimi
Editor’s Choice Prize Nonfiction: Behind the Bears Ears by R. E. Burrillo
2019:
Editor’s Choice Prize Fiction: Evidence of V by Sheila O’Connor
Editor’s Choice Prize Nonfiction: No Friend but the Mountains by Behrouz Boochani, translated by Omid Tofighian
2018:
Editor’s Choice Prize Fiction: The Very Marrow of Our Bones by Christine Higdon
Editor’s Choice Prize Nonfiction: Call Them by Their True Names by Rebecca Solnit
Independent Publisher Book Awards (Ippy Awards): Conducted annually, the Independent Publisher Book Awards honor the year’s best independently published titles from around the world. The awards are intended to bring increased recognition to the thousands of exemplary independent, university, and self-published books released each year.
The award categories here are almost too broad to truly be a “best book” list, so I have chosen to highlight some of their “Outstanding Books” categories, which are entertaining in their own right.
These awards are given in May, for books from the previous year.
2023:
Most Likely to Save The Planet: The Evidence Project by Britta Jaschinski, Keith Wilson, and Arturo de Frias (out of print) and Memories of a Birch Tree by Daniel Cañas, illustrated by Blanca Millán
Most Original Concept: Nothing Special by Desiree Cooper
Independent Voice Award: Silence by Nívola Uyá
2022:
Most Likely to Save The Planet: I Dream of Water by Shawn Small illustrated by Jenny Robbins
Most Original Concept: The Year the World Stood Still by Susan Brescia
Independent Voice Award: Dirty Birds by Morgan Murray
2021:
Most Likely to Save The Planet: HIDDEN: Animals in the Anthropocene by Jo-Anne McArthur & Keith Wilson and The Human Earthing Identity: Shared Values Unifying Human Rights, Animal Rights, and Environmental Movements by Carrie P. Freeman
Most Original Concept: Pink Satin Sashes: My Life in Sketches, Swatches and Paper Dolls by Debra Mack Larson
Independent Voice Award: A History of the Cat in Nine Chapters or Less by Fu Shivani
Small Press Network’s Book of the Year: This is an Australian book award from the Small Press Network. It “celebrates hidden gems – engaging and creative books across all genres that deserve to reach a wider audience.” It is open to books published by small and indepedent publishers in Australia, and these books can be hard to find out of Australia.
2023 Winner – Against Disappearance: Essays on Memory by Liminal
2022 Winner – Gravidity and Parity by Eleanor Jackson
2021 Winner – Echoes by Shu-Ling Chua and We are Speaking in Code by Tanya Vavilova
2020 Winner – Forgotten Corners: Essays in Search of an Island’s Soul by Pete Hay
2019 Winner – Songwoman by Ilke Tampke
The Indie Book Award (Australia): Awarded by the Australian Independent Booksellers, this award was established in 2008 with the aim of creating a unique award recognizing and rewarding the best Australian writing as chosen by Australian Independent Booksellers. The Awards celebrate the enormous depth and range of literary talent in the nation. The awards include Nonfiction, Fiction, Debut Novels and more, but I will only highlight those three here.
2023:
Fiction: Horse by Geraldine Brooks
Nonfiction: The Book Of Roads And Kingdoms by Richard Fidler
Debut Novel: All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien
2022:
Fiction: Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
Nonfiction: Love Stories by Trent Dalton
Debut Novel: The Silent Listener by Lyn Yeowart
2021:
Fiction: Honeybee by Craig Silvey
Nonfiction: Phosphorescence by Julia Baird
Debut Novel: The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
2020:
Fiction: There Was Still Love by Favel Parrett
Nonfiction: Tell Me Why by Archie Roach
Debut Novel: Allegra in Three Parts by Suzanne Daniel
The Pacific Northwest Book Awards: Presented by the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, this award aims to recognize excellence in writing from the Pacific Northwest. The only requirement is that the author and/or illustrator resides within the PNBA region (Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Montana, Idaho and British Columbia).
Books are considered based on an October-September window, with awards announced the following January. They award up to 6 titles a year regardless of genre or category.
2024:
Weird Rules to Follow by Kim Spencer
The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earling
Cascadia Field Guide: Art | Ecology | Poetry, edited by CMarie Fuhrman and Derek Sheffield in partnership with Elizabeth Bradfield
Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City by Jane Wong
You Just Need to Lose Weight and 19 Other Myths about Fat People by Aubrey Gordon
Doppleganger by Naomi Klein
2023:
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford
Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu
Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk by Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe
The Wok: Recipes & Techniques by J. Kenji López-Alt
Ma And Me: A Memoir by Putsata Reang
The Necessity of Wildfire: Poems by Caitlin Scarano
2022:
Unfollow Me: Essays On Complicity by Jill Louise Busby
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad
Time Is A Flower by Julie Morstad
Funeral For Flaca: Essays by Emilly Prado
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
The Southern Book Prize: Voted on by booksellers and readers across the south, the Southern Book Prize is awarded to a book that is either set in the South or has an author who is Southern (or both) and it must have been published within the previous calendar year.
This award is handed out on Valentine’s Day every year.
2024:
Fiction: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Nonfiction: The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl
2023:
Fiction: Lark Ascending by Silas House
Nonfiction: Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott
2022:
Fiction: When Ghosts Come Home by Wiley Cash
Nonfiction: Graceland, at Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache from the American South by Margaret Renkl
2021:
Fiction: The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels
Nonfiction: Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey
2020:
Fiction: The Magnetic Girl by Jessica Handler
Nonfiction: Tell Me A Story: My Life with Pat Conroy by Cassandra King Conroy
Alex Awards: The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18. The winning titles are selected from the previous year’s publishing. These books are helpful for driven young readers who are starting to be interested in adult fiction, but are not necessarily interested in some of the themes found there.Awards are announced in January for books published the previous year.
2024 Winners:
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Chlorine by Jade Song
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
The Hard Parts: A Memoir of Courage and Triumph by Oksana Masters
I Will Greet the Sun Again by Khashayar J. Khabushani
Maame by Jessica George
Starter Villain by John Scalzi
The Talk by Darrin Bell
Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
2023 Winners:
Babel by R.F. Kuang
A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin
Chef’s Kiss by Jarrett Melendez, illustrated by Danica Brine
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora
The High Desert: Black. Punk. Nowhere. written and illustrated by James Spooner
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
True Biz by Sara Nović
Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser, illustrated by Robyn Smith
2022 Winners:
The 100 Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
Crossing the Line: A Fearless Team of Brothers and the Sport That Changed Their Lives Forever by Kareem Rosser
How Lucky by Will Leitch
The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
Lore Olympus, Vol. 1 by Rachel Smythe
Malice by Heather Walter
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell
The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
American Indian Literature Association Youth Literature Awards: The American Indian Youth Literature Awards are presented every two years. The awards were established as a way to identify and honor the very best writing and illustrations by and about American Indians and Alaska Natives. Books selected to receive the award present American Indians in the fullness of their humanity in the present and in past contexts.
2024:
Picture Books: Forever Cousins by Laurel Goodluck, illustrated by Jonathan Nelson and A Letter for Bob by Kim Rogers, illustrated by Jonathan Nelson
Middle Grade: We Still Belong by Christine Day
Young Adult: Rez Ball by Byron Graves
2022:
Picture Books: Herizon by Daniel W. Vandever
Middle Grade: Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young
Young Adult: Apple Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth
2020:
Picture Books: Bowwow Powwow: Bagosenjige-niimi’idim by Brenda J. Child
Middle Grade: Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis
Young Adult: Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith
2018:
Picture Books: Shanyaak’utlaax: Salmon Boy, edited by Tlingit speakers Johnny Marks, Hans Chester, David Katzeek, and Nora Dauenhauer and Tlingit linguist Richard Dauenhauer
Middle Grade: Tales of the Mighty Code Talkers, Volume 1, featuring Theo Tso (Las Vegas Paiute), Jonathan Nelson (Diné), Kristina Bad Hand (Sičháŋǧu Lakota/Cherokee), Roy Boney Jr. (Cherokee), Lee Francis IV (Laguna Pueblo), Johnnie Diacon (Mvskoke/Creek), Weshoyot Alvitre (Tongva), Renee Nejo (Mesa Grand Band of Mission Indians), and Michael Sheyahshe (Caddo)
Young Adult: #Not Your Princess: Voices of Native American Women edited by Lisa Charleyboy (Tsilhqot’in) and Mary Beth Leatherdal
National Book Award – Young People’s Literature: The National Book Awards are an American book award “whose mission is to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of great writing in America.”
The young people’s literature award is awarded annually and is announced in November.
2023 Winner – A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat
2022 Winner – All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
2021 Winner – Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
2020 Winner – King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender
2019 Winner –1919 The Year That Changed America by Martin W. Sandler
Caldecott Medal: The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children (so these are the really beautiful ones!).
Awards are announced in January for books published the previous year.
2024 Winner – Big illustrated and written by Vashti Harrison
2023 Winner – Hot Dog illustrated and written by Doug Salati
2022 Winner – Watercress illustrated by Jason Chin, written by Andrea Wang
2021 Winner – We Are Water Protectors illustrated by Michaela Goade, written by Carole Lindstrom
2020 Winner – The Undefeated illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Kwame Alexander
Newbery Medal: The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
Awards are announced in January for books published the previous year.
2024 Winner – The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers
2023 Winner – Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
2022 Winner – The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
2021 Winner – When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
2020 Winner – New Kid by Jerry Craft
Batchelder Award: This prize is awarded to a United States publisher for a children’s book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originating in a country other than the United States and in a language other than English and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States during the preceding year.
Awards are announced in January for books published the previous year.
2024 Winner – Houses with a Story: A Dragon’s Den, a Ghostly Mansion, a Library of Lost Books, and 30 More Amazing Places to Explore written and illustrated by Seiji Yoshida, translated by Jan Mitsuko Cash
2023 Winner – Just a Girl: A True Story of World War II by Lia Levi, illustrated by Jess Mason and translated from Italian by Sylvia Notini
2022 Winner – Temple Alley Summer, written by Sachiko Kashiwaba, illustrated by Miho Satake and translated from the Japanese by Avery Fischer Udagawa
2021 Winner – Telephone Tales written by Gianni Rodari, illustrated by Valerio Vidali and translated by Antony Shugaar
2020 Winner – Brown written by Håkon Øvreås, illus. by Øyvind Torseter, and translated by Kari Dickson
Coretta Scott King Awards: are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood.
Awards are announced in January for books published the previous year.
2024:
Winning Author: Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi
Winning Illustrator: An American Story illustrated by Dare Coulter
2023:
Winning Author: Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
Winning Illustrator: Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual illustrated by Frank Morrison
2022:
Winning Author and Illustrator: Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper
2021:
Winning Author: Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson
Winning Illustrator: R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul illustrated by Frank Morrison
2020:
Winning Author: New Kid by Jerry Craft
Winning Illustrator: The Undefeated illustrated by Kadir Nelson
The Diverse Book Awards: Started in 2019 in response to the fact that few book awards explicitly name diversity of all types as their basis, this award looks at all kinds of diversity, including race, gender, and sexuality. It has a Children’s category, and will be announcing a picture book winner in 2023 as well.
Awards are announced in October for books published the previous year.
2023:
Picture Book: Dadaji’s Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande, illustrated by Ruchi Mhasane
Children’s Book: The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Drama and Danger by J.T. Williams, illustrated by Simone Douglas
Young Adult: When Our Worlds Collided by Danielle Jawando
2022:
Children’s Book: Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow by Benjamin Dean, illustrated by Sandhya Prabat
Young Adult: Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen
2021:
Children’s Book: Windrush Child by Benjamin Zephaniah
Young Adult Book: Run, Rebel by Manjeet Mann
2020:
Children’s Book: The Star Outside My Window by Onjali Q. Rauf
Young Adult: Chinglish: An Almost Entirely True Story by Sue Cheung
Awards Specific to Race & Ethnicity
These awards are designed to give authors with specific backgrounds a platform to be recognized for their work. They are important in that they amplify and support writers who might not gain the recognition of the major book awards.
The Diverse Book Awards: Started in 2019 in response to the fact that few book awards explicitly name diversity of all types as their basis, this award looks at all kinds of diversity, including race, gender, and sexuality. This award encompasses more than just ethnicity, but since this is the first section to address identity, it ends up here!
Awards are announced in October for books published the previous year.
2023 Winner – One for Sorrow, Two for Joy by Marie-Claire Amuah
2022 Winner – Next of Kin by Kia Abdullah
2021 Winner – A More Perfect Union by Tammye Huf
2020 Winner – This Green and Pleasant Land by Ayisha Malik
PEN Open Book Award: This award is presented to book-length writings by authors of color, published in the United States during the current calendar year. Works of fiction, literary nonfiction, biography/memoir, poetry, and other works of literary character are strongly preferred. U.S. residency or citizenship is not required.
Awards are handed out as part of the PEN America awards in February.
2023 Winner – The Black Period by Hafizah Augustus Geter
2022 Winner – Curb by Divya Victor
2021 Winner – Inheritors by Asako Serizawa
2020 Winner – The Grave on the Wall by Brandon Shimoda
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature: The goal of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature is to honor and recognize individual work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit.
Books are eligible from September of one year through August of the following year (hence the multi-year categories below), with awards announced in January or February of each year.
2023-2024:
Fiction Winner: A History of Burning by Janika Oza
Nonfiction Winner: Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life by Alice Wong
Young Adult Winner: I’d Rather Burn Than Bloom by Shannon C. F. Rogers
2022-2023:
Fiction Winner: American Fever by Dur e Aziz Amna
Nonfiction Winner: The Loneliest Americans by Jay Caspian Kang
Young Adult Winner: Himawari House by Harmony Becker
2021-2022:
Fiction Winner: Shadow Life written by Hiromi Goto, illustrated by Ann Xu
Nonfiction Winner: Tastes Like War: A Memoir by Grace M. Cho
Young Adult Winner: Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
2020-2021:
Fiction Winner: How Much of These Hills is Gold: A Novel by C Pam Zhang
Nonfiction Winner: America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States by Erika Lee
Young Adult Winner: This Light Between Us by Andrew Fukuda
2019-2020:
Fiction Winner: The Atlas of Reds and Blues by Devi Laskar
Nonfiction Winner: Ghosts of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad by Gordon H Chang
Young Adult Winner: They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, illustrated by Harmony Becker
Arab American Book Award: The Arab American Book Awards is a literary program created to honor books written by and about Arab Americans. The program generates greater awareness of Arab American scholarship and writing through an annual award competition and educational outreach.
Awards are announced in the fall of each year for books released in the previous year.
2023:
Fiction Winner(s): The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah and If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga
Nonfiction Winner(s): Muslims of the Heartland by Edward E. Curtis IV and Hadha Baladuna, edited by Ghassan Zeineddine, Nabeel Abraham, and Sally Howell
2022:
Fiction Winner: Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah
Nonfiction Winner: Don’t Forget Us Here by Mansoor Adayfe and Return to Ruin: Iraqi Narratives of Exile and Nostalgia by Zainab Saleh
Poetry Winner: The Wild Fox of Yemen by Threa Almontaser
Children’s/Young Adult Winner: Home is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo
2021:
Fiction Winner: Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa
Nonfiction Winner: Arab Routes: Pathways to Syrian California by Sarah M.A. Gualtieri and Stories My Father Told Me by Helen Zughaib and Elia Zughaib
Poetry Winner: Birthright by George Abraham and Washes, Prays by Noor Naga
Children’s/Young Adult Winner: The Arabic Quilt by Aya Khalil, illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan and Farah Rocks Fifth Grade by Susan Muaddi Darraj
2020:
Fiction Winner: The Other Americans by Laila Lalami
Nonfiction Winner: When We Were Arabs: A Jewish Family’s Forgotten History by Massoud Hayoun
Poetry Winner: A Theory of Birds by Zaina Alsous
Children’s/Young Adult Winner: I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir written and illustrated by Malaka Gharib
NAACP Image Awards: Awarded to African American people from across the entertainment industry as well as to authors.
2023:
Outstanding Literary Work (Fiction): Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Outstanding Literary Work (Nonfiction): Finding Me by Viola Davis
2022:
Outstanding Literary Work (Fiction): Long Division by Kiese Laymon
Outstanding Literary Work (Nonfiction): The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones
2021:
Outstanding Literary Work (Fiction): The Awkward Black Man by Walter Mosley
Outstanding Literary Work (Nonfiction): A Promised Land by Barack Obama
2020:
Outstanding Literary Work (Fiction): The Revisioners by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
Outstanding Literary Work (Nonfiction): The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations by Toni Morrison
The Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature: This award combines Sami Rohr’s passion for encouraging emerging talent and his love of Jewish literature by awarding exceptional books. Books may be translations, and nonfiction subjects should be related to Jewish history or Jewish concerns.
This award was previously administered by the Jewish Book Foundation, which also gives a host of awards, but is now given in association with the National Library of Israel.
Awards are presented in May.
2023 (fiction) – Jerusalem Beach: Stories by Iddo Gefen, translated by Daniella Zamir
2022 (nonfiction) – Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure by Menachem Kaiser
2020 (non-fiction) – Kafka’s Last Trial: The Case of a Literary Legacy by Benjamin Balint
International Latino Book Awards: A prize given by Latino Literacy Now, a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization which was founded to promote literacy in the community in all forms: educational, financial, reading, health, and community awareness. They give a number of prizes for books written in both English and Spanish, including a number of Children’s Books, so if you are looking for that, check out the link above. Below, I am only highlighting a few interesting categories.
The awards ceremony takes place in August, and celebrates books released in the current year and the two years previous (books can be eligible for more than one year, provided they are published prior to submission).
2022:
Isabel Allende Most Inspirational Fiction Winner – English: A Ballad of Love and Glory by Reyna Grand
Latino Focused Nonfiction Winner: All Bones Are White by Carlo Perez Allen
Best Fiction Book Translation (Spanish to English):
2022:
Isabel Allende Most Inspirational Fiction Winner – English: How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz
Latino Focused Nonfiction Winner: Latin American Documentary Narratives by Liliana Chávez Díaz
Best Fiction Book Translation (Spanish to English): Blue Flowers by Carola Saavedra, translated by Daniel Hahn
2021:
Isabel Allende Most Inspirational Fiction Winner -English: Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia
Latino Focused Nonfiction Winner: America’s Bilingual Century by Steve Leveen
Best Fiction Book Translation (Spanish to English): It Would Be Night in Caracas by Karina Sainz Borgo, translated by Elizabeth Bryer
2020:
Fiction Winner: The Affairs of the Falcóns by Melissa Rivero
Latino Focused Nonfiction Winner: Once I Was You by Maria Hinojosa
Best Fiction Book Translation (Spanish to English): Manhattan Tropics/Trópico en Manhattan by Guillermo Cotto-Thorner, translated by J. Bret Maney
The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards: The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards recognize books that have made important contributions to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of the rich diversity of human cultures. For over 80 years, the distinguished books earning Anisfield-Wolf prizes have opened and challenged our minds.
Awards are presented in the spring, for books published the previous year.
2023:
Fiction Winner (s): Horse by Geraldine Brooks and The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang
Nonfiction Winner: Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad by Matthew F. Delmont
2022:
Fiction Winner: The Trees by Percival Everett
Nonfiction Winner: Of Fear and Strangers: A History of Xenophobia by George Makari and All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family’s Keepsake by Tiya Miles
2021:
Fiction Winner: Deacon King Kong by James McBride
Nonfiction Winner: Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey and Tacky’s Revolt by Vincent Brown
2020:
Fiction Winner: The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell
Nonfiction Winner: Gods of the Upper Air by Charles King
Awards Specific to Gender & Sexual Orientation
Stories by and about the LBGTQIA+ community are all too often absent from our lives. These awards hold space for stories that reflect the lives and experiences of people in these communities in a number of ways. There are also a number of awards in this category that recognize the work of female-identifying authors. While white female authors are a large part of the publishing industry, major book awards and prominent book reviews still tend to promote white men, and so these prizes are important as well.
Stonewall Book Award: The first and most enduring award for GLBT books is the Stonewall Book Awards, sponsored by the American Library Association’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table. Since 1971, many books have been honored for exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience.
2023:
Literature Winner: The Other Mother by Rachel M. Harper
Nonfiction Winner(s): The Women’s House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison by Hugh Ryan and Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn’t My Rapist by Cecilia Gentili
2022:
Literature Winner: Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon
Nonfiction Winner: Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi
2021:
Literature Winner: The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar
Nonfiction Winner: Queer Games Avant-Garde: How LGBTQ Game Makers are Reimagining the Medium of Video Games by Bonnie Ruberg
2020:
Literature Winner: Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis
Nonfiction Winner: How We Fight for Our Lives: A Memoir by Saeed Jones
2019:
Literature Winner: The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
Nonfiction Winner: Go the Way Your Blood Beats by Michael Amherst
Lambda Literary Award: The Lambda Literary Awards (the “Lammys”) identify and celebrate the best lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender books of the year and affirm that LGBTQ stories are part of the literature of the world. These awards are divided by the specific facet of the queer community they represent, which is incredibly important for people looking to see themselves represented on the page. These are only a selection of the awards given out every year, so click the link above for more.
2022:
Lesbian Fiction: Gods of Want by K-Ming Chang
Gay Fiction: The Foghorn Echoes by Danny Ramadan
Bisexual Fiction: Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste
Transgender Fiction: The Call-Out by Cat Fitzpatrick
LGBTQ Nonfiction: The Black Period: On Personhood, Race, and Origin by Hafizah Augustus Geter
2022:
Lesbian Fiction: Skye Falling by Mia McKenzie
Gay Fiction:100 Boyfriends by Brontez Purnell
Bisexual Fiction: We Want What We Want by Alix Ohlin
Transgender Fiction: Summer Fun by Jeanne Thornton
LGBTQ Nonfiction: Let the Record Show: A Political History of Act Up New York, 1987-1993 by Sarah Schulman
2021:
Lesbian Fiction: Fiebre Tropical by Juli Delgado Lopera
Gay Fiction: Neotenica by Joon Oluchi Lee
Bisexual Fiction: You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat
Transgender Fiction: The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar
LGBTQ Nonfiction: The Lonely Letters by Ashon T. Crawley
2020:
Lesbian Fiction: Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn
Gay Fiction: Lot by Bryan Washington
Bisexual Fiction: Exquisite Mariposa by Fiona Alison Duncan
Transgender Fiction: Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) by Hazel Jane Plante
LGBTQ Nonfiction: In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
Bisexual Nonfiction: Socialist Realism by Trisha Low
Transgender Nonfiction: We Both Laughed in Pleasure: The Selected Diaries of Lou Sullivan by Ellis Martin and Zach Ozma
Women’s Prize for Fiction: One of the most prestigious literary awards in the world, the Women’s Prize for Fiction celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women’s writing from throughout the world.
Winners are announced in June for books published in the previous year.
2023 Winner – Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
2022 Winner – The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
2021 Winner – Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
2020 Winner – Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
2019 Winner – An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize: Since 1976, the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender, Sexuality, 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.
2023 Winner – Happy for You by Claire Stanford
2022 Winner – City of a Thousand Gates by Rebecca Sacks
2021 Winner – The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans
2020 Winner – The Revisioners by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
2019 Winner – The Past is Never by Tiffany Quay Tyson
Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers: Presented for the 11th year in 2017, the Dayne Ogilvie Prize rewards emerging writers whose body of work demonstrates great potential and who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer.
2023 Winner – Anuja Varghese, author of Chrysalis
2022 Winner – francesca ekwuyas, author of Butter Honey Pig Bread
2021 Winner – Jillian Christmas, author of The Gospel of Breaking
2020 Winner – Arielle Twist, author of Disintegrate/Dissociate
2019 Winner – Lindsay Nixon, author of nîtisânak
International and Translation Awards
While the United States and the United Kingdom (and to a lesser extent Canada, Australia and New Zealand) account for most of the books published in English every year, there are still books in English coming from other parts of the world. The following awards recognize exceptional international books written in English as well as awards for exemplary translations.
The AKO Caine Prize for African Writing: This prize aims to bring African writing to a wider audience using their annual literary award. In addition, they work to connect readers with African writers through a series of public events, as well as helping emerging writers in Africa to enter the world of mainstream publishing .
The prize celebrates a short story by an emerging or established author, and is announced at the annual Caine Prize writers’ workshop in July which takes place in a different African country each year.
2023 Winner – A Soul of Small Places, a short story by Mama Bougouma Diene and Woppa Diallo
2022 Winner – Five Years Next Sunday, a short story by Idza Luhumyo, a writer whose work is published in the anthology Disruption
2021 Winner – The Street Sweep, a short story by Meron Hedero, author of A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times
2020 Winner – Grace Jones, a short story by Irenosen Okojie, author of Speak Gigantular, Butterfly Fish and Nudibranch
Man Booker International Prize: This prize, established in 2005, was initially open to any author writing in English. However, with the Man Booker being open to authors outside of the Commonwealth it was reconfigured, and as of 2016, it is awarded to a book translated into English in the previous year.
It is usually awarded in May, awarding books released in the previous year.
2023 Winner – Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov, translated from Bulgarian by Angela Rodel
2022 Winner – Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell
2021 Winner – At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop, translated from French by Anna Moschovakis
2020 Winner –The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, translated by Michele Hutchison
2019 Winner – Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi, translated from Arabic by Marilyn Booth
Nigeria Prize for Literature: The Nigeria Prize for Literature is sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited. The prize is aimed at bringing Nigerian authors to public attention and celebrating excellence literary accomplishments in the nation. The prize is worth $100,000, and is awarded annually to a Nigerian author.
The category of book rotates between poetry, prose, children’s books and drama. Awards are announced in October.
2023 (Drama) – Grit by Obari Gomba
2022 Winner (Poetry) – Nomad by Romeo Oriogun
2021 Winner (Prose) – The Son of the House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia
2019 Winner (Children’s) –Boom Boom by Jude Idada
2018 Winner (Drama) – Embers by Soji Cole
OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature: The OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature is a major award for literary books by Caribbean writers. Books must also have been originally written in English.
Awards are given at their annual festival in April
2023:
Fiction Winner: When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
Nonfiction Winner: Love the Dark Days by Ira Mathur
2022:
Fiction Winner: Pleasantview by Celeste Mohammed
Nonfiction Winner: Things I Have Withheld by Kei Miller
2021:
Fiction Winner: These Ghosts Are Family by Maisy Card
Nonfiction Winner: The Undiscovered Country by Andre Bagoo
2020:
Fiction Winner: Everything Inside by Edwidge Danticat
Nonfiction Winner: Shame on Me: An Anatomy of Race and Belonging by Tessa McWatt
The Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation: The Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize aims to raise the profile of contemporary Arabic literature as well as honouring the important work of individual translators in bringing the work of established and emerging Arab writers to the attention of the wider world.
It is specifically awarded to the translators of these works, but the works themselves are what I have highlighted below.
The Society of Authors also has a series of other translation prizes specific to language, as well at the First Translation prize, highlighted below.
2024 Winner – Mister N by Najwa Bakarat, translated by Luke Leafgren
2023 Winner(s) – The Men Who Swallowed the Sun by Hamdi Abu Golayyel, translated by Humphrey Davies and Slipping by Mohamed Kheir, translated by Robin Moger
2022 Winner – The Girl with Braided Hair by Rasha Adly, translated by Sarah Enany
2021 Winner – Velvet (Mukhmal) by Huzama Habayeb, translated by Kay Heikkinen
2020 Winner – Death is Hard Work by Khaled Khalifa, translated by Leri Price
The First Translation Prize: This is an annual prize for a debut literary translation into English published in the UK and Ireland, translated from any language. The Prize is shared between the translator and their editor.
Winners are announced in February for books published the previous year.
2024 Winner – The Opposite of a Person by Lieke Marsman, translated from Dutch by Sophie Collins and edited by Marigold Atkey
2023 Winner – Things I Didn’t Throw Out by Marcin Wicha, translated from Polish by Marta Dziurosz
2022 Winner – An Inventory of Losses by Judith Schalansky, translated by Jackie Smith
2021 Winner – Every Fire You Tend by Sema Kaygusuz, translated by Nicholas Glastonbury
202o Winner – Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri, translated by Morgan Giles
PEN Translation Prize: This translation prize celebrates book-length translations from any language into English published during the current calendar year.
It is part of the annual PEN American Awards, which are released in the February for books released the previous year.
2023 Winner – People from Bloomington by Budi Darma, translated from Indonesian by Tiffany Tsao
2022 Winner – Migratory Birds by Mariana Oliver, translated from the Spanish by Julia Sanches
2021 Winner – A Country for Dying by Abdellah Taïa, translated from the French by Emma Ramadan
2020 Winner – The Ten Loves of Nishino by Hiromi Kawakami, translated from the Japanese by Allison Markin Powell
National Book Award – Translated Literature: The National Book Awards are an American book award “whose mission is to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of great writing in America.” The translated fiction award is the only National Book Award open to non-US citizens and non-residents.
2023 Winner – The Words That Remain by Stênio Gardel, translated from Portuguese by Bruna Dantas Lobato
2022 Winner – Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin, translated from Spanish by Megan McDowell
2021 Winner – Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin, translated from French by Aneesa Abbas Higgins
2020 Winner – Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri, translated from Japanese by Morgan Giles
2019 Winner – Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming by László Krasznahorkai, translated from Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet
Warwick Prize for Women in Translation: This prize is awarded annually to the best eligible work of fiction, poetry, literary non-fiction, work of fiction for children or young adults, graphic novel, or play text, written by a woman, translated into English by a translator of any gender, and published by a UK or Irish publisher.The prize launched in 2017 with the aim of addressing the gender imbalance in translated literature and increasing the number of international women’s voices accessible to a British and Irish readership.
2023 Winner – Your Wish Is My Command written, illustrated and translated from Arabic by Deena Mohamed
2022 Winner – Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell and Osebol by Marit Kapla, translated from Swedish by Peter Graves
2021 Winner – An Inventory of Losses by Judith Schalansky, translated from German by Jackie Smith
2020 Winner – The Eighth Life (for Brilka) by Nino Haratischvili, translated from German by Charlotte Collins and Ruth Martin
2019 Winner – The Years by Annie Ernaux, translated from French by Alison L. Strayer
Awards for Emerging Authors and New Voices
Getting started as an author is hard work. Literary prizes can offer the publicity and cash that new authors need to establish themselves, and are a great way to fine new favorites.
Many of the awards already listed have debut author categories, and I didn’t highlight them all. However, I wanted to make sure to highlight a couple specific ones here as well.
PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel: This award honors a debut novel of exceptional merit by an American author who has not previously published a full-length book of fiction. The prize is intended to allow significant time and resources with which to pursue a subsequent work of fiction. All competition honorees receive Residency Fellowships at the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming, a retreat for artists and writers.
2023 Winner – Calling For a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah
2022 Winner – Detransition, Baby: A Novel by Torrey Peters
2021 Winner – Sharks in the Time of Saviors: A Novel by Kawai Strong Washburn
2020 Winner – A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar
New American Voices Award: Started in 2018, and administered by the Institute for Immigration Research, this award recognizes recently published works that illuminate the complexity of the human experience as told by immigrants, whose work is historically underrepresented in writing and publishing. Writers should be first or second generation immigrants.
Winners are announced in October for work published from October of the previous year to September of the current year.
2023 Winner – The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng
2022 Winner – Seeking Fortune Elsewhere by Sindya Bhanoo
2021 Winner – Infinite Country by Patricia Engel
2018 Winner – The Son of Good Fortune by Lysley Tenorio