Newman Prize for Chinese Literature - World Literary Awards

Established: 2008
Organizer: University of Oklahoma Institute for US-China Issues, David L. Boren College of International Studies
Category: Literature and General Literary Arts
Selection Method: Recommendation
Target: Professional
Frequency: Biennial (every two years)
Announcement Period: around March
Status: Active

Description

The Newman Prize for Chinese Literature was established in 2008 by Peter Gries of the University of Oklahoma’s Institute for US–China Issues to honor Harold J. Newman and Ruth Newman. It is awarded every two years to a living author writing in Chinese, selected on the basis of literary merit. Nominations and the selection process are handled by an international jury of distinguished experts. Voting uses successive rounds of "positive" elimination until a single winner remains. The winner receives US$10,000, a plaque, and is invited to the University of Oklahoma for an award ceremony and related academic activities.

Prize

Main Prize: Winner receives US$10,000, a plaque, and an invitation to the University of Oklahoma for a ceremony and academic activities.
Cash Prize: 10,000 USD

Plaque
Invitation to University of Oklahoma for award ceremony and academic events

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Nominations	Nominations and candidate selection are handled by an international jury of distinguished experts convened by the OU Institute for US–China Issues.	—	Nominees are identified and considered internally by the jury for subsequent voting rounds.
Voting (successive positive-elimination rounds)	International jury; ballots are counted/recorded by the Director of the OU Institute for US–China Issues.	—	The jury votes in successive rounds (each juror votes for all but one candidate); rounds continue until one candidate remains. Ties for elimination (except in the final two rounds) result in multiple eliminations; when three remain, only one is eliminated at a time.
Winner announcement & ceremony	Final decision by the international jury; OU hosts the ceremony.	—	Winner is publicly announced and invited to the University of Oklahoma for an award ceremony and academic activities; announcement is made via OU channels and press.

Nominations

Judges Nominations and candidate selection are handled by an international jury of distinguished experts convened by the OU Institute for US–China Issues.

Announcement Nominees are identified and considered internally by the jury for subsequent voting rounds.

Voting (successive positive-elimination rounds)

Judges International jury; ballots are counted/recorded by the Director of the OU Institute for US–China Issues.

Announcement The jury votes in successive rounds (each juror votes for all but one candidate); rounds continue until one candidate remains. Ties for elimination (except in the final two rounds) result in multiple eliminations; when three remain, only one is eliminated at a time.

Winner announcement & ceremony

Judges Final decision by the international jury; OU hosts the ceremony.

Announcement Winner is publicly announced and invited to the University of Oklahoma for an award ceremony and academic activities; announcement is made via OU channels and press.

Criteria

Literary merit (primary criterion)
Author must be living at time of award
Author writes in Chinese (any regional/linguistic variety)
Eligibility via recommendation/nomination
Assessment of the author’s overall body of work and contribution to Chinese literature

Application Tips

Dos

Contact recommendable academic institutions and researchers to request an official nomination (this award is nomination-based).
Prepare a file organizing the author's representative works, award history, and research evaluations.
Prepare English translations or summaries of representative works for the international judges to understand (attach translations as needed).
Confirm that the author is still living.
Check in advance with the organizer (OU) for any submission format or deadline.

Don''ts

Attempt to proceed only with self-nomination (primarily through recommendation/nomination).
Misrecord or incompletely provide publication information or years.
Exaggerate work evaluations or rely on unsubstantiated claims.

From Judges

This award is primarily judged based on literary merit.
Broad support for the candidate is important, and judging is conducted through successive positive elimination rounds.
Emphasis is placed on the candidate's overall achievements and creative ability in Chinese.
Recommendations with official backing from experts or academic institutions are more favorably evaluated.