10 Most Prestigious Award For Authors and Writers In The World

Receiving a literary award is one of the most prestigious recognitions that an author can get for all the work behind a book. In the world of literature there are several awards that every year recognize the best books and authors. From Noble Prize to Hugo Awards there some awards that are for a specific genre and there are some that are specific to genders, nationality and other characteristics. These awards also help the readers to discover the best books of the year. The authors who win a literary award usually receive a cash amount and a prize like a medal or a plaque. Here are 10 most prestigious award for authors and writers in the world:

Nobel Prize In Literature: (most prestigious award for authors)

The Nobel Prize in Literature is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded every year since 1901 to authors for their entire extraordinary works in literature. The winner gets a medal and money which varies from year to year. Nobel Prize in Literature is one of the most prestigious award for authors. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes that were established in the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, after whom the prize has been named. Rabindranath Tagore was the first Indian to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for ‘Gitanjali’. In 2001 Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, an Indian-origin author won the Nobel Prize in Literature. In 2020, Louise Glück  , an American poet and essayist won the Noble Prize in Literature.

Pulitzer Prize:

The Pulitzer Prize was established in 1917. Joseph Pulitzer a respected journalist is credited for creating the prize. The prize is overseen by the Columbian University in New York City. This prestigious award for authors and writers is awarded annually in 21 categories. In 20 categories each winner receives a certificate and cash prize and the winner in the public service category for journalism is awarded a gold medal. There are several categories for writers, that include fiction, non-fiction, play-writing, history, biography and poetry. The prize is given for achievements in journalism, literature and musical composition. In recent years, online journalism has also been included in the categories.

Man Booker Prize:

Man Booker Prize commonly known as Booker Prize is a prestigious award given to writers. The award was established in 1968 by a multinational company. Before 2014, Booker Prize only accepted work from Commonwealth, Ireland and Zimbabwe. However, from 2014 Booker Prize was widened to accept any writing in English language. For books translated in English the International Booker Prize awarded. In 1971, V. S. Naipaul’s ‘In A Free State’ was the first novel by an Indian novelist to win the Booker Prize.

Neustadt International Prize For Literature:

The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a prestigious award that is sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and by its International literary publication World Literature Today. The first Neustadt Prize was awarded in 1970. The winner gets a certificate, a silver eagle feather and cash prize of $50,000. Just like the Nobel Prizes, Neustadt is awarded to individuals for their entire work in literature and not just for a single work. in 1982, The New York Times called Neustadt Prize ‘The Oklahoma Nobel’. The Nobel Prize and Neustadt Prize have many common recipients. In 1988, Raja Rao was the first Indian writer to receive Neustadt Prize. He has authored many extraordinary books in Kannada, English and French.

Women’s Prize For Fiction: (most prestigious award for authors who are female)

The Women’s Prize for Fiction is the United Kingdom’s one of the most prestigious award for authors who are female. It is presented every year to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel in the English language and published in the United Kingdom in preceding years. It was first awarded in 1996. In 1991, Booker Prize did not include a female in its six shortlisted books. After this a team of men and women came together and established the Women’s Prize For Fiction. The award focuses on the contributions made by the female writers.

Hugo Awards:

The Hugo Awards is an annual literary award given to the best science-fiction or fantasy works. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback who was the founder of the science-fiction magazine ‘Amazing Stories’. It was first awarded in 1953. The World Science Fiction Society oversees the management of the Hugo Awards. Some categories include Best Novel (stories of more than 40,000 words), Best Novella (stories of between 17,500 to 40,000 words), Best Novelette (stories of between 7,500 to 17,500 words), Best Short Stories and Best Series.

Jnanpith Award:

Jnanpith Award is a prestigious Indian literary award. It is presented annually to Indian writers for their remarkable contribution towards literature. The award is given to the works in any one of the languages recognized in the Indian Constitution. The first recipient of the Jnanpith Award was G. Sankara Kurup in 1965 for his Malayalam work ‘Otkuzhal’. The winner receives a statue of the Goddess Saraswati, citation plaque and cash prize of Rs. 11 lakhs.

The Hindu Literary Prize:

The Hindu Literary Prize is one of the most respected literary prizes in India. It was established in 2010 by The Hindu Literary Review which is part of the newspaper The Hindu. The prize is awarded to Indian works in English and English translation. The prize is awarded to all the works of fiction and short stories collection.

Sahitya Akademi Award:

The Sahitya Akademi Award is a prestigious literary award. It was established in 1954 by Sahitya Akademi, India’s National Academy of Letters. The prize is awarded annually to writers in any 24 major Indian languages including English. The winner gets a plaque and a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh. Past winners include R. K Narayan, Mulk Raj Anand, Vikram Seth and Jerry pinto.

Costa Book Awards:

Costa Book Awards are only for English writers from Britain and Ireland. It was established in 1971. The award recognizes not only the extraordinary works by writers but also enjoyable books with an objective to popularize reading. The categories in Costa Book Awards include biography, novel, children’s book, first novel and poetry.

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