World Literary Prizes 2005

All prizes are annual and were awarded in 2005 unless otherwise stated. Currency equivalents as of July 1, 2005, were as follows: €1 = $1.210; £1 = $1.792; Can$1 = $0.816; ¥1 = $0.009; SKr 1 = $0.128; and DKr 1 = $0.162.

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 2005 the award was SKr 10,000,000.

Harold Pinter (U.K.)

International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award

First awarded in 1996, this is the largest international literary prize; it is open to books written in any language. The award is a joint initiative of Dublin City Council, the Municipal Government of Dublin City, and the productivity-improvement company IMPAC. It is administered by Dublin City Public Libraries. Prize: €100,000, of which 25% goes to the translator if the book was not written in English, and a Waterford crystal trophy. The awards are given at Dublin Castle in May or June.

The Known World by Edward P. Jones (U.S.)

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.

Adam Zagajewski (Poland), awarded in 2004

Commonwealth Writers Prize

Established in 1987 by the Commonwealth Foundation. In 2005 there was one award of £10,000 for the best book submitted and an award of £3,000 for the best first book. In each of the four regions of the Commonwealth, two prizes of £1,000 are awarded: one for the best book and one for the best first book.

Best Book Small Island by Andrea Levy

Best First Book Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria)

Regional winners--Best Book

Africa Boy by Lindsey Collen (South Africa)

Caribbean & Canada Runaway by Alice Munro (Canada)

Eurasia Small Island by Andrea Levy (U.K.)

Southeast Asia & South Pacific White Earth by Andrew McGahan (Australia)

Booker Prize

Established in 1969, sponsored by Booker McConnell Ltd. and, beginning in 2002, the Man Group; administered by the National Book League in the U.K. Awarded to the best full-length novel written by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland and published in the U.K. during the 12 months ended September 30. Prize: £50,000.

The Sea by John Banville

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 each receive £5,000, and the winner of the Whitbread Book of the Year prize receives an additional £25,000. Winners are announced in January of the year following the award.

Small Island by Andrea Levy (2004 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 ended March 31. Prize: £30,000.

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver (U.S.)

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 U.S. Prize: $15,000.

War Trash by Ha Jin

Pulitzer Prizes in Letters and Drama

Begun in 1917, 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: 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: $10,000 in each category.

Fiction Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Biography de Kooning: An American Master by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan

Poetry Delights & Shadows by Ted Kooser

History Washington's Crossing by David Hackett Fischer

General Non-Fiction Ghost Wars by Steve Coll

Drama Doubt, a Parable by John Patrick Shanley

National Book Awards

Awarded since 1950 by the National Book Foundation, a consortium of American publishing groups. Categories have varied, beginning with 3--Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry--swelling to 22 awards in 1983, and returning to 4 (the initial 3 plus Young People's Literature) in 2001. Prize: $10,000 and a bronze statue.

Fiction Europe Central by William T. Vollmann

Nonfiction The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Poetry Migration: New and Selected Poems by W.S. Merwin

Frost Medal

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

Marie Ponsot

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.

Fiction (English) A Perfect Night to Go to China by David Gilmour

Fiction (French) Hotaru by Aki Shimazaki

Poetry (English) Processional by Anne Compton

Poetry (French) Vingtièmes siècles by Jean-Marc Desgent

Griffin Poetry Prize

Established in 2001 and administered by the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry, the award honours first-edition books of poetry published during the preceding year. Prize: Can$40,000 each for the two awards.

Canadian Award Short Journey Upriver Toward Oishida by Roo Borson

International Award Selected Poems: 1963-2003 by Charles Simic (U.S.)

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: €40,000.

Brigitte Kronauer (Germany)

Hooft Prize

P.C. Hooftprijs. The Dutch national prize for literature, established in 1947. Prize: €60,000.

Frédéric Bastet

Nordic Council Literature 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 in other Nordic languages (Finnish, Faroese, Sami, etc.) during the past four years. Prize: DKr 350,000.

Skugga-Baldur by Sjón (Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson) (Iceland)

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: €10.

Trois jours chez ma mère by François Weyergans

Prix Femina

Established in 1904. The awards for works "of imagination" are announced by an all-women jury in the categories of French fiction, fiction in translation, and nonfiction. Announced in November together with the Prix Médicis. Prize: Not stated (earlier the award was F 5,000 【about $690】).

French Fiction Asiles de fous by Régis Jauffret

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.

Sergio Pitol (Mexico)

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: €600,000 and publication by Planeta.

Pasiones romanas by Maria de la Pau Janer

Camões Prize

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

Lygia Fagundes Telles (Brazil)

Russian Booker Prize

Awarded since 1992, the Russian Booker Prize has sometimes carried the names of various sponsors--e.g., Smirnoff in 1997-2001. In 2004 it was underwritten by the Open Russia Charitable Organization and called the Booker/Open Russia Literary Prize. Awards: $15,000 for the winner; $1,000 for each finalist.

Bez puti-sleda ("Neither Hide nor Hair") by Denis Gutsko

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: $1,000 and a silver medal.

Laylat'urs ("Wedding Night") by Yusuf Abu Rayyah (Egypt)

Jun'ichiro Tanizaki Prize

Tanizaki Jun'ichir 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 and a trophy.

Ko Machida for Kokuhaku ("Confession") and Eimi Yamada for Fumi zekka ("Superb Flavours")

Ryunosuke Akutagawa Prize

Akutagawa Ryunosuke Sho. Established in 1935 and now sponsored by the Association for the Promotion of Japanese Literature, the prize is awarded in January and June for the best serious work of fiction by a promising new Japanese writer published in a magazine or journal. Prize: ¥1,000,000 and a commemorative gift.

"Gurando finaare" ("Grand Finale") by Abe Kazushige (132nd prize)

"Tsuchi no naka no kodomo" ("A Child Buried in the Earth") by Fuminori Nakamura (133rd prize)

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 five years. Latest awards were announced in April 2005.

Zhang Juzheng ("Chang Chü-cheng") by Xiong Zhaozheng

Wuzi ("Without Words") by Zhang Jie

Lishi de tiankong ("The Sky of History") by Xu Guixiang

Dong cang ji ("Hidden Away in the East") by Zong Pu

Yingxiong shidai ("The Era of Heroes") by Liu Jianwei

/td\\>