Looking for a Good Book? Try an Award-Winning Read by Jean Harripersaud, Bronx Library CenterOctober 29, 2013

Each year multiple literary prizes are awarded to recognize the works of great writers. Some of these awards are well known and much anticipated like the prestigious Nobel Prize for Literature, while others are lesser known. Here is a list of some of the more popular literary awards given out this year.

The Nobel Prize for Literature was established in 1901 at the bequest of Alfred Nobel (Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator and inventor of dynamite). It is awarded by the Swedish Academy in Sweden "to the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction..." (From Alfred Nobel's will).

This year's prize was awarded to Canadian Author Alice Munro. You can find Munro's works in the catalog.

The Booker Prize for Fiction is open to citizens of the UK, the Commonwealth and Ireland and is administered by the Booker Prize Foundation in England. The prize is awarded to the "best novel in the opinion of the judges." This year's prize was awarded to New Zealand Author Eleanor Catton for her book The Luminaries. At 28 years old, Ms. Catton is the youngest author to receive the prize.

The Pulitzer Prizes, established in 1917 at the bequest of Joseph Pulitzer (outstanding newspaper publisher) is administered by Columbia University in New York City. The prizes honor excellence in journalism and the arts. The Pulitzer Prizes for Letters & Drama for this year were awarded for the following works:

The Edgar Awards (named after the famous son of American literature, Edgar Allan Poe) is presented by the Mystery Writers of America for the best works in Mystery writing.

The Christy Awards was established in 1999 by a group of publishers to "Honor and Promote Excellence in Christian Fiction." The award is named after the first book to receive the award Christy by Catherine Marshall (10 million copies in print).

The RITA Awards, administered by the Romance Writers of America, was named after the mother-daughter founders of the awards. It was established in 1980 to recognize excellence in Romance Fiction.

The Hugo Awards for Science Fiction started in 1955. It is administered by the World Science Fiction Convention. The awards are said to be the most prestigious awards in Science Fiction.

National Book Award—stay tuned... winners will be announced on November 20.

You can also explore award winners within our catalog, BiblioCommons.

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