Hello bookish friends! Every once in a while, I want to take the opportunity on this blog to look at various aspects of bookish life and really explore how they operate. Since last week’s post looked at the Women’s Prize, I figured now would be a good time to look at how book awards work.
So, after a little bit of research, here’s what I’ve found:
First off, as you might guess, bookish awards have certain criteria that make books eligible. For instance, the Women’s Prize for Fiction lists as its eligibility requirement: “Any woman writing in English – whatever her nationality, country of residence, age or subject matter – is eligible.” In contrast, the Booker Prize requires, “The work must be published in the UK or Ireland between 1 October of the year prior, and 30 September of the year of that award."
The judges for various awards go through a similar eligibility process. For instance, the judges for the Women’s Prize are “a panel of five women, all passionate readers and at the top of their respective professions.”
Books that are eligible then go through a screening process so the finalists can be chosen. (That’s where we get the longlists and the shortlists each year.) As the Booker Prize finalists were determined, “Each month, the judges received a stack of books in the mail, then met in London or online to work out which ones they thought should make it to the next round.”
The reward for winning also varies. Recognition, of course, is an obvious benefit. Other benefits include a £30,000 cash prize for winning the Women’s Prize, and £50,000 to the winner of the Booker Prize.
Obviously this information is focused on the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Booker Prize because those are the two literary prizes I’m most familiar with, though I’m sure others have their own interesting eligibility requirements and processes for choosing winners. What are your favorite literary prizes? Share below!
Sources (also linked directly to the quote):
“Enter the Women's Prize for Fiction 2022.” Women's Prize for Fiction, 10 Sept. 2021, www.womensprizeforfiction.co.uk/enter.
“Entering the Prizes.” The Booker Prizes, thebookerprizes.com/information-for/entering-the-prizes.
“Judging.” Women's Prize for Fiction, 15 June 2021, womensprizeforfiction.co.uk/about/judging.
Marshall, Alex. “How to Judge the Booker Prize in a Pandemic.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Sept. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/09/16/books/booker-prize-coronavirus-judging-shortlist.html.
“Susanna Clarke's Piranesi Favourite to Win Women's Prize for Fiction.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 3 Sept. 2021, www.theguardian.com/books/2021/sep/03/susanna-clarkes-piranesi-favourite-to-win-womens-prize-for-fiction.
“Facts & Figures.” The Booker Prizes, thebookerprizes.com/facts-figures.
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