Icelandic Literary Prize

あいすらんどぶんがくしょう

The main Icelandic literary prize awarded annually by the Icelandic Publishers Association in three categories.

Fiction/PoetryChildren's booksAcademic/Non-fiction

Established: 1989
Organizer: Icelandic Publishers Association
Category: Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Selection Method: Recommendation
Target: Professional
Frequency: 1 per year
Announcement Period: around January
Status: Active

Description

The Icelandic Literary Prize (Íslensku bókmenntaverðlaunin) is a literary prize established by the Icelandic Publishers Association in 1989 to commemorate the association's 100th anniversary. Each year, one winning book is selected from each of the Fiction/Poetry, Children's Books, and Academic/Non-fiction categories. Five books are nominated per category; nominations are announced in early December, and winners are announced in January. Nominations coincide with the Christmas book sales peak, providing significant promotional effects for nominees and winners. Winning works are selected by a selection committee appointed by the Publishers Association.

Prize

Main Prize: One book is awarded each year in each of the three categories (Fiction/Poetry, Children's books, Academic/Non-fiction). The prize amount is not specified on the page.

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Nomination	Nominations by publishers, etc. (5 books per category are announced as nominees)	—	Nominations are announced in early December
Selection by the Selection Committee	Selection committee appointed by the Icelandic Publishers Association	Pass rate from nomination to award is approximately 20% per category (1 out of 5)	The selection committee selects the winning work in each category
Award Announcement	Selection Committee	—	Award announcement is made in January and publicized through media and the association

Nomination

Judges Nominations by publishers, etc. (5 books per category are announced as nominees)

Announcement Nominations are announced in early December

Selection by the Selection Committee

Judges Selection committee appointed by the Icelandic Publishers Association

Pass Rate Pass rate from nomination to award is approximately 20% per category (1 out of 5)

Announcement The selection committee selects the winning work in each category

Award Announcement

Judges Selection Committee

Announcement Award announcement is made in January and publicized through media and the association

Criteria

Literary quality (expression, style, structure)
Originality and novelty
Cultural and social significance of the work
For children's books: suitability for target age and imagination
For academic category: research methods, accuracy, and academic contribution

Application Tips

Dos

Build relationships with Icelandic publishers (nominations are by publishers or the association, so publisher support is important)
Publish and distribute within the year (especially before the holiday season) to ensure the work gains attention during the December nomination announcement period
Enhance the literary quality and originality of the work

Don''ts

Do not mistakenly believe you can apply directly without publisher recommendation (it is a nomination system)
Do not neglect preparations and miss the PR opportunity around the January award announcement

From Judges

Emphasis is placed on the completeness of literary expression, style, and structure
Originality and the cultural significance of the work are evaluated
For children's books and academic books, emphasis is placed on suitability for target readers/academic contribution in their respective fields