List of British literary awards
Encyclopedia
Literature in general
- Bristol Festival of Ideas Book Prize, for a book which "presents new, important and challenging ideas..."
- British Book AwardsBritish Book AwardsThe Galaxy National Book Awards are a series of British literary awards focused on the best UK writers and their works, as selected by an academy of members from the British book publishing industry...
-- the "Nibbies" - Costa Book AwardsCosta Book AwardsThe Costa Book Awards are a series of literary awards given to books by authors based in Great Britain and Ireland. They were known as the Whitbread Book Awards until 2005, after which Costa Coffee, a subsidiary of Whitbread, took over sponsorship....
(formerly the Whitbread book awards) - Guardian First Book AwardGuardian First Book AwardGuardian First Book Award, issued before 1999 as Guardian Fiction Prize or Guardian Fiction Award, is awarded to new writing in fiction and non-fiction.-History:...
- John Llewellyn Rhys PrizeJohn Llewellyn Rhys PrizeThe John Llewellyn Rhys Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kingdom...
- New Writing Ventures
- Ondaatje PrizeOndaatje PrizeThe Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize is an annual literary award given by the Royal Society of Literature. The £10,000 award is given for a work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry which evokes the "spirit of a place", and which is written by someone who is a citizen of or who has been...
- The Orwell PrizeOrwell PrizeThe Orwell Prize used to be regarded as the pre-eminent British prize for political writing.Three prizes are awarded each year: one for a book, one for journalism and another for blogging...
- The People's Book PrizeThe People's Book Prize (UK)The People's Book Prize is a literary award voted for by the UK public. It is administered by Tatiana Wilson, an independent publisher, and was created to recognize the work of first-time authors...
- Somerset Maugham AwardSomerset Maugham AwardThe Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each May by the Society of Authors. It is awarded to whom 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...
- Warwick Prize for WritingWarwick Prize for WritingThe Warwick Prize for Writing is an international cross-disciplinary prize, worth £50,000, that will be given biennially for an excellent and substantial piece of writing in the English language, in any genre or form, on a theme that will change with every award. It was launched and sponsored by...
Fiction in General
- Booker Prize
- Commonwealth Writers Prize
- Geoffrey Faber Memorial PrizeGeoffrey Faber Memorial PrizeThe Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize is a British literary prize established in 1963 in tribute to Geoffrey Faber, founder and first Chairman publisher Faber & Faber...
- Hawthornden PrizeHawthornden PrizeThe Hawthornden Prize is a British literary award that was established in 1919 by Alice Warrender. Authors are awarded on the quality of their "imaginative literature" which can be written in either poetry or prose...
- James Tait Black Memorial PrizeJames Tait Black Memorial PrizeFounded 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 and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
for fiction - Orange Prize for FictionOrange Prize for FictionThe Orange Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, annually awarded to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English, and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year...
- Wales Book of the YearWales Book of the YearThe Wales Book of the Year is a Welsh literary award given annually to the best Welsh and English language works in the fields of fiction and literary criticism by Welsh or Welsh interest authors...
- WH Smith Literary AwardWH Smith Literary AwardThe WH Smith Literary Award was an award founded in 1959 by British high street retailer W H Smith. Its founding aim was stated to be to "encourage and bring international esteem to authors of the British Commonwealth"; originally open to all residents of the UK, the Commonwealth and the Republic...
- Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize
Crime
- Duncan Lawrie International DaggerDuncan Lawrie International DaggerThe Duncan Lawrie International Dagger is an award given by the Crime Writers' Association for best translated crime novel of the year. The winning author receives an ornamental dagger and £5,000. The translator of the novel is awarded £1,000....
, for a translated crime novel - CWA Ian Fleming Steel DaggerCWA Ian Fleming Steel DaggerThe CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association for best thriller of the year. The award is sponsored by the estate of Ian Fleming and is given to "best adventure/thriller novel in the vein of James Bond"....
, for a thriller - CWA New Blood DaggerCWA New Blood DaggerThe CWA New Blood Dagger is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association for first books by previously unpublished writers. It is given in memory of CWA founder John Creasey and was previously known as The John Creasey Memorial Award. The award is voted on by past winners and...
, for a debut crime novel - Dagger in the LibraryDagger in the LibraryThe Dagger in the Library is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association to a particular author. The award is given to a "living author who has given the most pleasure to readers". Yearly shortlists are drawn up from submissions by libraries across United Kingdom, and the final...
, for a crime writer, chosen by librarians - Gold DaggerGold DaggerThe Gold Dagger Award was an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association for the best crime novel of the year.For its first five years, the organization's top honor was known as the Crossed Red Herring Award....
, for a crime novel
First novel
- Author's Club First Novel AwardAuthor's Club First Novel AwardAuthors' Club Best First Novel Award is awarded by the Authors' Club to the most promising first novel of the year, written by a British author and published in the UK during the calendar year preceding the year in which the award is presented....
- Betty Trask AwardBetty Trask AwardThe Betty Trask Prize and Awards are for first novels written by authors under the age of 35, who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation. The awards were established in 1984 by the Society of Authors, at the bequest of the late Betty Trask, a reclusive author of over thirty romance novels...
- Ruth Hadden Memorial AwardRuth Hadden Memorial AwardThe Ruth Hadden Memorial Award is an award for the best first novel published in Britain. Formerly administered by the Booktrust, it has now been discontinued.-Past winners:1994: Pig, by Andrew Cowan1993: In the Place of Fallen Leaves, by Tim Pears...
- Waverton Good Read AwardWaverton Good Read AwardThe Waverton Good Read Award was founded in 2003 by villagers in Waverton, Cheshire, England, and is based on Le Prix de la Cadière d'Azur, a literary prize awarded by a Provençal village. Adult debut novels written by UK residents and published in the previous twelve months are eligible for...
Poetry
- Alice Hunt Bartlett PrizeAlice Hunt Bartlett PrizeThe Alice Hunt Bartlett Prize was awarded by the Poetry Society of London for a collection of poetry.-Winners:* 1966: Gavin Bantock for Christ: A Poem in 26 parts and Paul Roche for All Things Considered...
- Bridport prizeBridport prizeThe Bridport Prize International Creative Writing Competition was founded in 1973 and has steadily grown in stature and prestige. Today many thousands of entries are received from over 80 countries. In many cases a win in the Bridport Prize has led to further successes and helped to launch new...
- Cholmondeley AwardCholmondeley AwardThe Cholmondeley Award is an annual award for poetry given by the Society of Authors in the United Kingdom. Awards honour distinguished poets, from a fund endowed by the late Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley in 1966...
- Christopher Tower Poetry PrizesChristopher Tower Poetry PrizesThe Christopher Tower Poetry Prizes are annual prizes awarded to young British poets between the ages of 16 and 18, for poems submitted on a set theme. The prizes are administered by Christ Church, Oxford, and are funded by a bequest by the late Christopher Tower...
- Eric Gregory AwardEric Gregory AwardThe Eric Gregory Award is given by the Society of Authors to British poets under 30 on submission. The awards are up to a sum value of £24000 annually....
- Forward Poetry PrizeForward Poetry PrizeThe Forward Poetry Prizes were created in 1991. The aim of the prizes is to extend the audience for contemporary poetry. Until the T.S. Eliot Prize remuneration was increased to £15,000 plus £1000 to each of nine runners-up, the Forward was the United Kingdom's most valuable annual poetry...
- Gaisford PrizeGaisford PrizeThe Gaisford Prize is a prize in the University of Oxford, founded in 1855 in memory of Dr Thomas Gaisford . For most of its history, the prize was awarded for Classical Greek Verse and Prose...
- Geoffrey Faber Memorial PrizeGeoffrey Faber Memorial PrizeThe Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize is a British literary prize established in 1963 in tribute to Geoffrey Faber, founder and first Chairman publisher Faber & Faber...
- Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and MedicineHippocrates Prize for Poetry and MedicineThe Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medicine was founded in 2009 by Donald Singer, a clinical professor, and poet and translator Michael Hulse...
- Michael Marks Poetry AwardsMichael Marks Poetry AwardsThe Michael Marks Awards are annual awards for poetry instigated in 2009.The Michael Marks Poetry Pamphlet Award recognises a single outstanding work of poetry published in pamphlet form in the United Kingdom, including self-published works. The work should be not more than 36 pages...
- Newdigate prizeNewdigate prizeSir Roger Newdigate's Prize is awarded to students of the University of Oxford for Best Composition in English verse by an undergraduate who has been admitted to Oxford within the previous four years. It was founded by Sir Roger Newdigate, Bt in the 18th century...
- Queen's Gold Medal for PoetryQueen's Gold Medal for PoetryThe Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry is awarded for a book of verse published by someone in any of the Commonwealth realms. Originally the award was open only to British subjects living in the United Kingdom, but in 1985 the scope was extended to include people from the rest of the Commonwealth realms...
- T. S. Eliot PrizeT. S. Eliot PrizeThe T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry is awarded by the Poetry Book Society to "the best collection of new verse in English first published in the UK or the Republic of Ireland" in any particular year. The Prize was inaugurated in 1993 in celebration of the Poetry Book Society's 40th birthday and in...
Non-fiction
- CWA Gold Dagger for Non-FictionCWA Gold Dagger for Non-FictionThe CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction is a British literary award established in 1978 by the Crime Writers' Association, who have awarded the Gold Dagger fiction award since 1955....
, for a work of crime non-fiction - Duff Cooper PrizeDuff Cooper PrizeThe Duff Cooper Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of history, biography, political science or poetry, published in English or French. The prize was established in honour of Duff Cooper, a British diplomat, Cabinet member and acclaimed author. The prize was first awarded...
- Hessell-Tiltman PrizeHessell-Tiltman PrizeThe Hessell-Tiltman History Prize is awarded to the best work of non-fiction of historical content covering a period up to and including WWII, and published in the year of the award. The books are to be of high literary merit but not primarily academic. The prize is organized by the United...
, for a work of historical content and high literary merit - James Tait Black Memorial PrizeJames Tait Black Memorial PrizeFounded 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 and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
for biography - Samuel Johnson PrizeSamuel Johnson PrizeThe Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction is one of the most prestigious prizes for non-fiction writing. It was founded in 1999 following the demise of the NCR Book Award and based on an anonymous donation. The prize is named after Samuel Johnson...
- Whitfield Prize, for history
- William Hill Sports Book of the YearWilliam Hill Sports Book of the YearThe William Hill Sports Book of the Year is an annual British literary award sponsored by bookmakers William Hill. It claims to be "the world's richest sports book prize" at £22,000...
- Wolfson History PrizeWolfson History PrizeThe Wolfson History Prizes are literary awards given annually in the United Kingdom to promote and encourage standards of excellence in the writing of history for the general public...
, for history
See also
- List of literary awards
- British literatureBritish literatureBritish Literature refers to literature associated with the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. By far the largest part of British literature is written in the English language, but there are bodies of written works in Latin, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Cornish, Manx, Jèrriais,...
- English literatureEnglish literatureEnglish literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
- Scottish literatureScottish literatureScottish literature is literature written in Scotland or by Scottish writers. It includes literature written in English, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Brythonic, French, Latin and any other language in which a piece of literature was ever written within the boundaries of modern Scotland.The earliest...
- Welsh-language literature
- Welsh literature in English
- List of years in literature
- List of years in poetry
External links
- Book Prize Information: A source of information on book prizes and prizewinning books.