I’m toying with the idea of printing out a list of Newbery Medal winners and seeing how long it takes me to read them all (I know I read quite a few as I was growing up). Turns out when you start to research other literary awards the list is quite unmanageable, so today I’m sharing what I’ve learned about a few of the awards that are most familiar to me. I hope you learn something new.
Nobel Prize in Literature (1901)
When Swedish chemist, engineer, and inventor Alfred Nobel died in 1896 he left his fortune to establish five prizes for people who have “conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.” The categories are Physics, Chemistry, Physiology/Medicine, Peace, and Literature. The guidelines for the Nobel Prize in Literature are to award the author who “produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction,” considering his body of work as a whole. I must admit that I have not even heard of most of the recipients, but here are a few that I certainly have: Kazuo Ishiguro, Bob Dylan, Seamus Heaney, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, John Steinbeck, Winston Churchill, W.B. Yeats, and Rudyard Kipling.
Pulitzer Prize (1917)
Established in the will of Hungarian-American newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, the Pulitzer Prize is awarded in 21 categories of journalism, literature, and musical composition. Works must be entered in order to be considered and a total of 102 jurors select the winning entries. Some Pulitzer Prize winning novels I’ve read are The Good Earth, Gone with the Wind, The Grapes of Wrath, To Kill a Mockingbird, Breathing Lessons, The Known World, and Gilead.
Newbery Medal (1922)
The John Newbery Medal is given by the American Library Association in honour of the best contribution to American children’s literature published in the previous year. The award is named after John Newbery (1713-1767), an English publisher known as “The Father of Children’s Literature.” I have read at least 36 Newbery Award winners. (You know when a title is just so familiar that you can’t remember if you’ve actually read it?)
Caldecott Medal (1938)
Like the Newbery Medal, the Caldecott was conceived of by American publisher Frederic G. Melcher. It is likewise awarded by the American Library Association, but is given to the best American picture book. It is named after Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886), an influential British illustrator. Some of my favourite Caldecott winners are Make Way for Ducklings, Ox-Cart Man, Saint George and the Dragon, and Kitten’s First Full Moon.
Hugo Award (1953)
Named after Hugo Gernsback (1884-1967), founder of the first science fiction magazine, the Hugo Award is the premier award for science fiction and fantasy writing. The award is administered by the World Science Fiction Society and it currently has seventeen different categories. I didn’t have time to look through lists of all the winners, but my reading in these genres is pretty limited!
Edgar Awards (1954)
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards are given by the Mystery Writers of America to works of fiction, non-fiction, television, film, and theatre in the fields of mystery, crime, suspense, and intrigue. I looked at the list of winners in the Best Novel category and the only one I’ve read is Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger.
Booker Prize (1969)
Formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction and the Man Booker Prize, the Booker Prize was established to honour the best English novel published in Great Britain or Ireland. It was originally limited to writers of the Commonwealth, Ireland, and South Africa, but now all English language novels are eligible. The winner is chosen by a five-person panel which is appointed each year by the Booker Prize Foundation. I have read three Booker Prize winners: The Remains of the Day, The English Patient, and The Life of Pi.