World Literary Awards

Literary Awards

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580 literary awards

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards

Established
1979
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Presented by the New South Wales Government; administered by the State Library of New South Wales in association with Create NSW; supported by Multicultural NSW and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Research, Translation, and Scholarship
Target
Open
Announcement Period
around May
FictionNonfictionPoetryChildren's literature / Young adultPlays (Theatre)Screenplays (Film / TV / Radio)TranslationLiterary studies / CriticismMulticultural / Indigenous literature

Major Australian literary awards sponsored by the New South Wales Government across multiple categories. Established in 1979.

Prize: Awards across multiple categories (comprehensive literary awards with prize money set per category). Examples: Christina Stead Prize for Fiction A$40,000 (2021), Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction A$40,000 (2021), Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry A$30,000 (2021). Total in 2019 up to A$305,000.

Patrick White Award

Established
1974
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Perpetual (trustee) / trust established by Patrick White
Selection Method
Selection
Category
Literature and General Literary Arts
Target
Professional
Announcement Period
around November
Literary awardAustralian literatureLifetime achievement award

An annual Australian literary award that honors writers who have achieved creative accomplishments over many years but have not received sufficient recognition.

Prize: Cash prize (amount varies by year)

Prime Minister's Literary Awards

Established
2008
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Writing Australia (sponsored by the Australian Government)
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Target
Open
Announcement Period
around July–December
FictionNonfictionYoung adult fictionChildren's fictionPoetryAustralian history

Annual literary award hosted by the Australian government. Recognizes works in multiple categories (fiction, non-fiction, children's books, young adult, poetry, Australian history).

Prize: A$80,000 per category winner (standard since 2011). Shortlisted works may receive A$5,000 each. Initially (2008), A$100,000 per category (subsequent changes).

Queensland Premier's Literary Awards

Established
1999
Frequency
Annually
Organizer
Queensland Government (Premier of Queensland)
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Target
Newcomer
FictionBest Fiction BookEmerging Queensland Author – Manuscript AwardUnpublished Indigenous Writer – David Unaipon AwardNonfictionHistory BookChildren's Book (Mary Ryan's Award)Young Adult BookScience WritingPoetry Collection (Judith Wright Calanthe Award)Australian Short Story Collection (Steele Rudd Award)Literary Work Advancing Public Debate (Harry Williams Award)Film ScriptTelevision ScriptDrama Script (Stage)Encouragement and Development Prize

An Australian suite of literary awards established in 1999 and abolished in 2012, offering $225,000 across 14 categories. Succeeded by the Queensland Literary Awards.

Prize: Total 225,000 AUD (14 categories), max approx. 25,000 AUD per category. Benefits included publishing support for winning works, etc.

South Australian Literary Awards

Established
1986
Frequency
Biennial (every 2 years)
Organizer
State Library of South Australia (SLSA: operation) / Government of South Australia (establishment)
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Target
Open
Application Deadline
around November
Announcement Period
around October
FictionChildren's literatureYoung Adult FictionJohn Bray Poetry AwardNonfictionPlaywright's AwardUnpublished Manuscript AwardBarbara Hanrahan FellowshipMax Fatchen FellowshipTangkanungku Pintyanthi Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander FellowshipPremier's Award

A group of literary awards established in 1986 and held biennially. Renamed from Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature in 2024, honoring domestic and international works as well as those related to South Australia across multiple categories.

Prize: Premier's Award (overall excellence award): A$25,000 (selected from winners of other categories)

Tasmanian Premier's Literary Prizes (now Tasmanian Literary Awards)

Established
2007
Frequency
Biennial (every 2 years)
Organizer
Tasmanian Government (Arts Tasmania / Department of Premier and Cabinet)
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Target
Open
Application Deadline
around September
Announcement Period
around March
FictionNonfictionyoung readers and childrenIndigenous writingpoetry and short storiesyoung writers fellowshipTasmania Book PrizeMargaret Scott PrizeUniversity of Tasmania PrizeTasmanian Young Writer's Fellowship

Literary prize hosted by the Tasmanian state government. Established in 2007. Renamed Tasmanian Literary Awards in 2021, limiting submissions to Tasmanian residents. Awarded biennially in multiple categories.

Prize: Awards in each category (prize money and fellowships for young writers, etc.). Prize money and benefits vary by year and category (no specific amounts mentioned in the text).

Victorian Premier's Literary Awards

Established
1985
Frequency
Annually
Organizer
Wheeler Centre (operator), Victorian Government (sponsor). Managed by State Library of Victoria until 1997
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Target
Open
Announcement Period
around February
FictionNonfictionPoetryDramaWriting for Young AdultsChildren's literatureIndigenous WritingUnpublished ManuscriptPeople's Choice AwardJohn Clarke Prize for Humour Writing

One of Australia's major literary awards established by the state of Victoria in 1975 (founded 1985). Selects winners in multiple categories and an overall prize each year.

Prize: Each category winner receives A$25,000. One of the five category winners is selected for the Victorian Prize for Literature (overall prize) and receives an additional A$100,000 (overall winner total A$125,000). Unpublished Manuscript Award: A$15,000. Children's Literature Award: A$25,000. People's Choice: honorary award by reader vote.

Western Australian Premier's Book Awards

Established
1982
Frequency
Annually (Established in 1982. Biennial from 2015 → Returned to annual in 2018)
Organizer
Western Australian Government / State Library of Western Australia (operator)
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Target
Newcomer
Application Deadline
around March
FictionNonfictionPoetryChildren's BookYoung AdultWestern Australian HistoryScriptDigital NarrativePremier's PrizeBook of the YearWestern Australian Writer's FellowshipPremier's Prize for an Emerging WriterDaisy Utemorrah Award (Indigenous Authors)People's ChoiceWestern Australian Writers Hall of Fame

Annual literary award by the Western Australian Government (operated by the State Library). Recognizes works in multiple categories, with fellowships and various cash prizes.

Prize: Multiple category prizes and fellowships (e.g., Western Australian Writer's Fellowship A$60,000, each category prize A$15,000, etc.)

Feldkircher Lyrikpreis (Feldkirch Poetry Prize)

Established
2003
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Theater am Saumarkt (Feldkirch)
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Poetry and Contemporary Poetry
Target
Open
PoetryGerman-language poetryLiterary prize

An international open-call poetry prize for German-language poetry hosted by Theater am Saumarkt in Feldkirch, Austria. Established in 2003.

Prize: Recognition of the winner and public announcement every autumn. Winning works are archived in the Vorarlberg Library.

Erich Fried Prize

Established
1990
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Internationale Erich Fried Gesellschaft (International Erich Fried Society for Literature and Language) (Vienna) / Funded by the Austrian Federal Chancellery
Selection Method
Recommendation
Category
Poetry and Contemporary Poetry
Target
Professional
Announcement Period
around October
Literary awardPoetryGerman-language literature

Austrian annual literary award commemorating Erich Fried. Winners are determined by juror nomination, with prize money of 15,000 euros.

Prize: Cash prize (prize money)

Austrian State Prize for European Literature

Established
1965
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Federal Chancellery for Arts, Culture and Media (Austria)
Selection Method
Recommendation
Category
Literature and General Literary Arts
Target
Professional
Announcement Period
around July
European literatureLifetime achievementAustrian literary awardState prize

State literary prize awarded by the Federal Chancellery for Arts, Culture and Media to European writers; established in 1965.

Prize: State prize endowed with €25,000 (as of 2022)

Anton Wildgans Prize of Austrian Industry

Established
1962
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Federation of Austrian Industry (Industriellenvereinigung, IV)
Selection Method
Recommendation
Category
Literature and General Literary Arts
Target
Professional
Announcement Period
around May
Literature prizeFor writersAustrian literature

Literature prize established in 1962 by the Federation of Austrian Industry. Awarded by independent judges to young and mid-career writers of Austrian nationality.

Prize: Cash prize

Bessie Head Short Story Awards

Established
2007
Frequency
Annual (2007–2013: Novels and short stories annually, poetry and children's biennially. Since 2015 specialized in short stories)
Organizer
Bessie Head Heritage Trust
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Target
Open
Short storyNovelPoetryChildren's literature

Botswana literary award. Established in 2007. Honors the legacy of Bessie Head, aims to promote the development of Botswana literature by targeting works primarily written in English. Since 2015, focused on short story awards.

Prize: Prize money and prize details not publicly available / Not specified in materials

Prêmio Jabuti

Established
1959
Frequency
Annual
Organizer
Brazilian Book Chamber (Câmara Brasileira do Livro)
Selection Method
Selection
Category
Research, Translation, and Scholarship
Target
Professional
Application Deadline
around May
TranslationArchitecture and Urban StudiesPhotographyCommunicationsArtsLiterary CriticismLiterary TheoryIllustration (Children's/Young Adult)Exact SciencesTechnologyInformation TechnologyEducationPsychologyPsychoanalysisJournalismPedagogyEconomicsBusiness AdministrationBusinessLawBiographyCover ArtPoetrySocial SciencesNatural SciencesHealth SciencesShort Stories and ChroniclesChildren's literatureYoung Adult LiteratureNovelsComic Book

Prêmio Jabuti is Brazil's most traditional literary award, organized by the Brazilian Book Chamber and first awarded in 1959.

Prize: Special Tortoise trophy for Book of the Year; author receives R$100,000 (gross). Publisher of the winning work receives a unique figurine (noted from 2019).

Prêmio Machado de Assis

Established
1941
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Academia Brasileira de Letras（ブラジル文学アカデミー）
Selection Method
Recommendation
Category
Literature and General Literary Arts
Target
Professional
Literary awardLifetime achievementPortuguese-language literature

Established in 1941 by the Brazilian Academy of Letters, the Prêmio Machado de Assis is a prestigious Brazilian literary award recognizing a writer's lifetime achievement.

Prize: Medal and formal recognition by the Brazilian Academy of Letters (lifetime-achievement award).

Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction

Established
1999
Frequency
Annually
Organizer
The Baillie Gifford Prize (Operated by: The Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-fiction Limited)
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Nonfiction and Documentary Literature
Target
Open
Announcement Period
around November
NonfictionHistoryPoliticsScienceSportsTravelBiographyAutobiographyArtsCurrent affairs

A UK annual book prize awarded to outstanding non-fiction works published in English in the UK.

Prize: The winner receives prize money and recognition at the award ceremony. Prize money is £50,000 since 2019.

Betty Trask Prize and Awards

Established
1984
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Society of Authors
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Genre Fiction
Target
Newcomer
Announcement Period
around June
Fiction (first novel)Debut novel prizeRomantic/traditional fictionCommonwealth eligibility

First-novel prize for authors under 35 from current or former Commonwealth countries; main Prize (one author) plus Awards (other nominees).

Prize: One main Betty Trask Prize (recently ~£10,000) awarded to a single author; additional Betty Trask Awards distributed among other nominees; total annual funds at least £20,000.

British Book Awards (The Nibbies)

Established
1990
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
The Bookseller
Selection Method
Vote
Category
Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Target
Open
Announcement Period
around March
Literary awardBook awards (fiction, nonfiction, children's books, audiobooks, etc.)Publishing industry awardsRomantic Fiction (new for 2026)Science Fiction & Fantasy (new for 2026)Graphic Novel (new for 2026)

UK's comprehensive book awards. Annual book and author awards (aka: Nibbies) operated by The Bookseller (book industry magazine).

Prize: Category trophies (nib-shaped trophy = Nibbies) and titles such as "Book of the Year" along with industry promotion

Chancellor's Gold Medal

Established
1813
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
University of Cambridge
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Poetry and Contemporary Poetry
Target
Open
Announcement Period
around April–June
PoetryLiterary awardUniversity prize

Annual English poetry competition for undergraduate students at the University of Cambridge. Established in 1813.

Prize: Large medallion (coin-shaped medal) and the honor of reciting the poem at the Senate House

Dundee International Book Prize

Established
2000
Frequency
Once a year (annually)
Organizer
Dundee – One City, Many Discoveries; University of Dundee
Selection Method
Open call
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Target
Newcomer
Announcement Period
around October
Debut novel prizeEnglish-language worksFiction (any genre)

An annual Scottish literary prize for unpublished debut novels written in English, awarded from 2000 to 2016.

Prize: Prize money and publication opportunity for the winning work (publication by publisher)

Duff Cooper Prize

Established
1956
Frequency
Annually
Organizer
Duff Cooper Memorial Fund (registered charity 313572). Sponsor: Pol Roger (since 2013)
Selection Method
Selection
Category
Poetry and Contemporary Poetry
Target
Professional
HistoryBiographyPolitical sciencePoetryTravel writingLiterary criticism

A British literary prize awarded annually for outstanding non-fiction published in English or French, covering history, biography, travel writing, politics, poetry and literary criticism. Established in 1956, winners receive a first edition of Old Men Forget, £5,000 and a magnum of Pol Roger Champagne.

Prize: First edition of Duff Cooper's autobiography Old Men Forget and cash prize

Forward Prizes for Poetry

Established
1992
Frequency
Annually
Organizer
Forward Arts Foundation
Selection Method
Recommendation
Category
Poetry and Contemporary Poetry
Target
Professional
Announcement Period
around September–October
PoetryPoetry collectionFirst collectionSingle poem (written)Single poem (performed)

Britain's annual poetry prize. A major award recognizing three categories: poetry collections (Best Collection, Best First Collection) and single poems.

Prize: Best Collection (£10,000); Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection (£5,000); Best Single Poem (£1,000)

Hawthornden Prize

Established
1919
Frequency
Annually
Organizer
Hawthornden Foundation (current operator). Formerly Hawthornden Trust. Founder: Alice Warrender, later supported by Drue Heinz foundation.
Selection Method
Selection
Category
Poetry and Contemporary Poetry
Target
Professional
Announcement Period
around July
PoetryNovelsHistoryBiographyCreative nonfictionEnglish-language works

A British literary award for imaginative literature in English, including poetry, novels, history, biography, and creative non-fiction. Established in 1919. Prize of £25,000.

Prize: Monetary prize and prestige. Prize money as of 2017: £15,000 (GBP).

James Tait Black Memorial Prizes

Established
1919
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
University of Edinburgh, Department of English and Scottish Literature
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Plays, Scripts, and Screenplays
Target
Open
Announcement Period
around August
FictionBiographyDrama

One of Britain's oldest literary prizes, established in 1919 by the University of Edinburgh. Annual prizes are awarded in Fiction and Biography. The Drama prize (introduced 2013) has been paused since 2019.

Prize: Three prizes (Fiction, Biography, Drama) each worth £10,000 (when awarded).

Meyer-Whitworth Award

Established
1991
Frequency
Annually
Organizer
National Theatre Foundation (funding provided); Arts Council England (1992–2006 administration); Playwrights' Studio, Scotland (2006–2011 administration)
Selection Method
Selection
Category
Plays, Scripts, and Screenplays
Target
Newcomer
Playwriting AwardTheatreBritish Literature AwardNewcomer Award

Award for emerging British playwrights. Established in 1991, awarded annually from 1992 to 2011, with prize money of £10,000.

Prize: Main prize: £10,000 cash prize (funded by National Theatre Foundation)

Sir Roger Newdigate's Prize (Newdigate Prize)

Established
1806
Frequency
Annually (usually)
Organizer
University of Oxford (Faculty of English)
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Poetry and Contemporary Poetry
Target
Open
Announcement Period
around June
Poetry (English verse)Undergraduates onlyLiterary prize

Award for the best English poem by an Oxford undergraduate. Established 1806.

Prize: Honor (recognition and announcement of the winning poem). No monetary reward specified in original sources.

Orwell Prize

Established
1993
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
The Orwell Foundation
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Nonfiction and Documentary Literature
Target
Open
Announcement Period
around June–July
Political fiction (books)Political writing (non-fiction books)Political journalismInvestigative reporting (Exposing Britain's Social Evils)Reporting HomelessnessYouth (Orwell Youth Prize)Blogging (historical, 2009–2012)

An award given for political writing in the UK. Annual award organized by The Orwell Foundation.

Prize: Plaques (Plaque) and monetary prizes are awarded to winners in each category. Historically reported as £2,000 in sources.

PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize

Established
2002
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
English PEN
Selection Method
Recommendation
Category
Nonfiction and Documentary Literature
Target
Professional
Announcement Period
around December
HistoryNonfictionLiterary awardEnglish-language works

An annual award from English PEN for non-fiction books of historical content covering any historical period, excluding historical biography and heavily military works.

Prize: Winner receives prize money and promotion/recognition by English PEN

SI Leeds Literary Prize

Established
2012
Frequency
Biennial (every 2 years)
Organizer
Soroptimist International of Leeds (SI Leeds)
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Plays, Scripts, and Screenplays
Target
Open
Application Deadline
around May
Announcement Period
around November
FictionUnpublished manuscriptsWomen writers (Black and Asian)Diversity-focused

Biennial literary prize established in 2012 for unpublished novels (over 30,000 words) by Black and Asian women resident in the UK.

Prize: Winner receives a development package (no consistent cash amount published): free place on an Arvon creative writing course, manuscript consideration by Peepal Tree Press, manuscript assessment and development support from The Literary Consultancy and partner organisations.

Somerset Maugham Award

Established
1947
Frequency
Once a year (annual)
Organizer
Society of Authors
Selection Method
Selection
Category
Poetry and Contemporary Poetry
Target
Professional
Announcement Period
around June
Literary awardBritishyoung writersFictionNonfictionPoetry

British literary prize awarded annually by the Society of Authors to writers under 35 for works published in the previous year (fiction, non-fiction or poetry).

Prize: Cash award to young writers intended to support travel/experience abroad; amount varies by year.