All prizes are annual and were awarded in 2001 unless otherwise stated

Nobel Prize for Literature

Awarded since 1901; included in the behest of Alfred Nobel, who specified a prize for those who "shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction." The prizewinners are selected in October by the Swedish Academy and receive the award on December 10 in Stockholm. Prize: a gold medal and an award that varies from year to year; in 2001 the award was SKr 10,000,000 (about $943,000).

V.S. Naipaul (British, born in Trinidad)

International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award

Awarded since 1996; the largest and most international prize of its kind and is open to books written in any language, the Award is a joint initiative of Dublin Corporation, the Municipal Government of Dublin City, and the productivity improvement company IMPAC. It is administered by Dublin Corporation Public Libraries. Prize: £Ir 100,000 (about $110,000) of which 25% goes to the translator. The awards are given at Dublin Castle by the president of Ireland in June.

No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod (Canada)

Neustadt International Prize for Literature

Established in 1969 and awarded biennially by the University of Oklahoma and World Literature Today. Novelists, poets, and dramatists are equally eligible. Prize: $50,000, a replica of an eagle feather cast in silver, and a certificate. Last awarded in 2000.

David Malouf (Australia)

Commonwealth Writers Prize

Established in 1987 by the Commonwealth Foundation. In 2001 there was one award of £10,000 (about $14,500) for the best book submitted and an award of £3,000 (about $4,360) for the best first book. In each of the four regions of the Commonwealth two prizes of £1,000 (about $1,450) are awarded: one for the best book and one for the best first book.

Best Book True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey (Australia)

Best First Book White Teeth by Zadie Smith (U.K.)

Regional winners--Best Book

Africa The Heart of Redness by Zakes Mda (South Africa)

Caribbean & Canada The Hero's Walk by Anita Rau Badami (Canada)

Eurasia Super-Cannes by J.G. Ballard (U.K.)

South East Asia & South

Pacific True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey (Australia)

Booker Prize

Established in 1969, sponsored by Booker McConnell Ltd., and administered by the National Book League in the U.K. Awarded to the best full-length novel written by a citizen of the U.K., Ireland, Pakistan, South Africa, or the Commonwealth and published in the U.K. during the 12 months ending September 30. Prize: £20,000 (about $28,500).

True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey (Australia)

Whitbread Book of the Year

Established in 1971. The winners of the Whitbread Book Awards for Poetry, Biography, Novel, and First Novel as well as the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year are eligible for the £25,000 Whitbread Book of the Year prize.

English Passengers by Matthew Kneale (2000 award)

Orange Prize for Fiction

Established in 1996. Awarded to a work of published fiction written by a woman in English and published in the U.K. during the 12 months ending March 31. Prize: £30,000 (about $42,800).

The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville

PEN/Faulkner Award

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation each year recognizes the best published works of fiction by contemporary American writers. Named for William Faulkner, the PEN/Faulkner Award was founded by writers in 1980 to honour their peers and is now the largest juried award for fiction in the United States. Prize: $15,000.

The Human Stain by Philip Roth

Pulitzer Prizes in Letters and Drama

Begun in 1917 and awarded by Columbia University, New York City, on the recommendation of the Pulitzer Prize Board for books published in the previous year. Five categories in Letters are honoured with prizes: Fiction, Biography, and General Non-Fiction (authors of works in these categories must be American citizens); History (the subject must be American history); and Poetry (for original verse by an American author). The Drama prize is for "a distinguished play by an American author, preferably original in its source and dealing with American life." Prize: $7,500 in each category.

Fiction The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

Biography W.E.B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century, 1919-1963 by David Levering Lewis

Poetry Different Hours by Stephen Dunn

History Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis

General Non-Fiction Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan by Herbert P. Bix

Drama Proof by David Auburn

National Book Awards

Awarded since 1950 by the National Book Foundation, a consortium of American publishing groups. Categories have varied, beginning with three--Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry--swelling to 22 awards in 1983, and returning to four (the initial three plus Young People's Literature) in 2001. Prize: $10,000 and a crystal sculpture.

Fiction The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

Nonfiction The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon

Poetry Poems Seven: New and Complete Poetry by Alan Dugan

Frost Medal

Awarded annually since 1930 by the Poetry Society of America for distinguished lifetime service to American poetry.

Sonia Sanchez

Governor-General's Literary Awards

Canada's premier literary awards. Prizes are given in 14 categories altogether: Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Translation, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature (Text and Illustration), each in English and French. Established in 1937. Prize: Can$15,000 (about U.S. $9,540).

Fiction (English) Clara Callan by Richard B. Wright

Fiction (French) Le Ravissement by Andrée A. Michaud

Poetry (English) Execution Poems by George Elliott Clarke

Poetry (French) Des ombres portées by Paul Chanel Malenfant

Griffin Poetry Award

Established in 2001 and administered by the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry. Prize: Can$40,000 (about U.S. $25,300) each for the two awards.

Canadian Award Men in the Off Hours by Anne Carson

International Award Glottal Stop: 101 Poems by Paul Celan translated by Heather McHugh and Nikolai Popov (United States)

Büchner Prize

Georg-Büchner Preis. Awarded for a body of literary work in the German language. First awarded in 1923; now administered by the German Academy for Language and Literature. Prize: DM 60,000 (about $27,700).

Friederike Mayröcker (Austria)

Hooft Prize

P.C. Hooftprijs. The Dutch national prize for literature, established in 1947. Prize: f. 75,000 (about $31,000).

Gerrit Krol, for his prose works

Nordic Council Literary Prize

Established in 1961. Selections are made by a 10-member jury from among original works first published in Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish during the past two years or other Nordic languages (Finnish, Faroese, Sami, etc.) during the past four years. Prize: DKr 350,000 (about $42,000)

Oppdageren (1999) by Jan Kjærstad (Norway)

Prix Goncourt

Prix de l'Académie Goncourt. First awarded in 1903 from the estate of French literary figure Edmond Huot de Goncourt to memorialize him and his brother, Jules. Prize: F 50 (about $6.75).

Rouge Brésil by Jean-Christophe Rufin

Prix Femina

Established in 1904. The awards for works "of imagination" are announced by an all-woman jury in the categories of French fiction, fiction in translation, and nonfiction. Announced in October together with the Prix Médicis. Prize: F 5,000 (about $690).

French Fiction Rosie Carpe by Marie Ndiaye

Cervantes Prize for Hispanic Literature

Premio Cervantes. Established in 1976 and awarded for a body of work in the Spanish language. Announced in December and awarded the following April. Prize: €90,000 (about $80,000).

Álvaro Mutis (Colombia)

Planeta Prize

Premio Planeta de Novela. Established in 1951 by the Planeta Publishing House for the best unpublished, original novel in Spanish. Awarded in Barcelona in October. Prize: Ptas 100 million (about $550,000) and publication by Planeta.

La canción de Dorotea by Rosa Regás

Camões Prize

Premio Luis de Camões da Literatura. Established in 1988 by the governments of Portugal and Brazil to honor a "representative" author writing in the Portuguese language. Prize: $100,000.

Eugénio de Andrade (Portugal)

Smirnoff Russian Booker Prize

Awarded since 1992; sponsored principally since 1997 by Guinness UDV's Smirnoff brand. Prize: $12,500 for the winner; $1,000 for each finalist.

Kazus Kukotskogo ("Kukotsky's Case") by Lyudmila Ulitskaya

Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature

Established in 1996 and awarded for the best contemporary novel published in Arabic. The winning work is translated into English and published in Cairo, London, and New York. Prize: a silver medal and $1,000.

Awraq an-narjis ("Narcissus Leaves") by Sumayya Ramadan

Jun'ichiro Tanizaki Prize

Tanizaki Jun'ichiro Sho. Established in 1965 to honour the memory of novelist Jun'ichiro Tanizaki. Awarded annually to a Japanese author for an exemplary literary work. Prize: ¥1,000,000 (about $8,170) and a trophy.

Hiromi Kawakami, for her novel Sensei no kaban ("The Teacher's Briefcase")

Ryunosuke Akutagawa Prize

Akutagawa Ryunosuke Sho. Established in 1935 and awarded semiannually for the best serious work of fiction by a promising new Japanese writer. Short stories or novellas win the prize more frequently than do full-length novels.

"Kuma no shikiishi" ("The Bear's Pavement") by Toshiyuki Horie

"Seisui" ("Holy Water") by Yuichi Seirai

"Chuin no hana" ("The Mourning Flower") by Sokyu Gen'yu

Mao Dun Literary Award

Established in 1981 to honour contemporary Chinese novels and named after novelist Shen Yanbing (1896-1981), whose nom de plume was Mao Dun; awarded every four years. Latest awards were announced on October 19, 2000.

Jueze ("Hard Choice") by Zhang Ping

Chang hen ge (1996; "Song of Everlasting Sorrow") by Wang Anyi

Chen'ai luo ding (1999; "When the Dust Settles") by Ah Lai

Nanfang you jiamu ("Fine Tree Possessed in Southland") and Buye zhi hou ("Delightful Marquis to Break Drowsiness"), from Charen sanbuqu ("Trilogy of Tea Men") by Wang Xufeng