The mandatory components of the process of awarding a literary prize are: a) a circle of experts who formulate the number of applicants and make the final decision; b) selection criterion, i.e. formulation of the basis on which this choice is made; c) the bonus itself, expressed in monetary equivalent or having a symbolic meaning (in the latter case, the emphasis is on the significance of the choice by one or another circle of experts) and d) the writers or poets themselves - prize winners, representing this choice.
In contrast to the methods of remuneration adopted in the Middle Ages, when writers were given the status of those close to the court - court poets or writers, accompanied by an appropriate monetary allowance, literary awards, the practice of which became widespread mainly in the 20th century, are a more democratic way of recognizing the merits of writers . Modern awards are one-time in nature and do not formally require any further obligations from writers. However, as experience shows, sometimes receiving a significant status award - international or state - affected the further work of the writer and influenced his fate.
Awards can be conditionally divided into a) international (Nobel, Booker, etc.) and national (Goncourt French, Pulitzer American, national Booker - English, Russian, etc., State Russian, etc.), b) industry ( in the field of fiction, historical novel, etc.), c) personalized - Astrid Lindgren Prize - International Prize in Children's Literature, etc. d) informal – Antibooker, Prize named after. Andrey Bely, etc.
International literary awards.
Nobel Prize in Literature (cm. NOBEL PRIZES) is the most famous and prestigious annual international prize in the field of literature.
Booker International Prize(Man Booker International Prize) – established in 2005. Will be awarded biennially for “creativity, development and general contribution to world fiction” and will be worth £60,000. Unlike the existing Booker Prize, which is open only to citizens of the British Commonwealth and Ireland, the new prize is open to anyone writing in English.
The 2005 laureate was the Albanian poet Ismail Kadare.
IMPAC Award(Improved Management Productivity and Control – Productivity Leader is an international award established in 1996 by Dublin City Council. Nomination rights are available to 185 library systems in 51 countries. The prize is awarded for a work written or translated into English. It is worth 100,000 euros - this is the largest prize that can be received for a single work, and it is awarded in Dublin.
Among the recipients is Moroccan Tahar Ben Jelloun for his novel Blinding absence of light, Edward Jones for the novel Known World.
Literary daggers(Golden Dagger, Silver Dagger, Debut Dagger, Library Dagger, etc.) . The prize has been awarded since 1955 for the best detective novel of the year by the Crime Writers' Association of Great Britain, an open society for the support of detective writers. Nominations: “Fiction”, “Non-fiction”, “Story”. ( cm. DETECTIVE)
AAI(AAR)Association of American Publishers. Established by the American Writers Association and awarded for the merits of its member publishers. In 2002, the prize for the translation of fiction that promotes mutual understanding between America and Russia was received by T.A. Kudryavtseva, translator of John Updike, William Styron, Norman Mailer, Margaret Mitchell and others.
Liberty Award(Liberty) - founded in 1999 by emigrants from Russia. Awarded for contribution to Russian-American culture and the development of cultural ties between the United States and Russia. The winner receives a diploma and a cash prize. The independent jury consists of three people: Grisha Bruskin, Solomon Volkov and Alexander Genis. Sponsors include Media Group Continent USA and the American University in Moscow.
The prize winners were cultural figures living in America. Among them are V. Aksyonov, L. Losev, M. Epstein, O. Vasiliev, V. Bachanyan, J. Bilington
National Literary Awards.
Booker Prize(Man-Booker Prize for Fiction, Booker Prize) (Great Britain) – annual British literary prize for best novel, written by a British or Commonwealth citizen in English. Its goal is to support and develop the traditions of such literary form like a novel. The prize was founded in 1969. It was first sponsored by Booker-McConnell plc., and the award was called the Booker-McConnell Prize. Since 2002, the award began to be called “Man Booker”, it is financed by the company “Man Group”. The premium has risen from £21,000 to £50,000.
Awarded by the independent charity The Book Foundation. The winners of the English Booker were: in 1969 – P.H. Newby, Something to Answer For); in 1970 – Bernice Rubens (Bernice Rubens, The Elected Member); V 1971 – V.S.Naipaul In a Free State); in 1972 - John Berger G); in 1973 – J.G. Farrell Siege of Krishnapur); in 1974 – Stanley Middleton Holiday); in 1975 - Nadine Gordimer and Ruth Jhabvala (Nadine Gordimer, The Conservationist Ruth Prower Jhabvala, Heat and Dust); in 1976 – David Storey Saville); in 1977 – Paul Scott (Paul Scott, Staying On); in 1978 – Iris Murdoch, The Sea); in 1979 – Penelope Fitzgerald (Penelope Fitzgerald, Offshore); in 1980 – William Golding (William Golding, Rites of Passage); in 1981 – Salman Rushdie (Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children); in 1982 – Thomas Keneally Schindler's Ark); in 1983 – J.M.Coetzee Life and Times of Michael K.); in 1984 – Anita Brookner (Anita Brookner, Hotel Du Lac); in 1985 – Keri Hulme Bone People); in 1986 – Kingsley Amis (Kingsley Amis, The Old Devils); in 1987 – Penelope Lively (Penelope Lively, Moon Tiger); in 1988 - Peter Carey (Peter Carey, Oscar and Lucinda); in 1989 – Kazuo Ishiguro (Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day); in 1990 – Bayat A.S. (A.S.Byatt, Possession); in 1991 – Ben Okri (Ben Okri, The Famous Road; in 1992 – Michael Ondaatje and Barry Unsworth (Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient; Barry Unsworth Sacred Hunger); in 1993 – Roddy Doyle Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha); in 1994 – James Kelman How Late It Was, How Late); in 1995 – Pat Barker (Pat Barker, The Ghost Road); in 1996 – Graham Swift (Graham Swift, Last Orders); in 1997 – Arundhati Roy The God of Small Things); in 1998 – Ian McEwan Amsterdam); in 1999 – J.M.Coetzee Disgrace); in 2000 – Margaret Atwood (Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin); in 2001 – Peter Carey (Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang); in 2002 – Yann Martel Life of Pi); in 2003 – D.B.S. Pierre (Peter Warren Finlay), Vernon God Little); in 2004 – Alan Hollinghurst The Line of Beauty).
Among the laureates of the English Booker there are world famous novelists Murdoch, Amis, Golding and others, almost half of the laureates are women. IN Lately Among the laureates, more and more people come from the countries of the British Commonwealth - Canada, South Africa, India, Australia, etc.
Whitbread Prize. Awarded by the UK Booksellers Association. Laureates receive £5,000; An absolute winner is selected from among the laureates in five categories (“Novel”, “Best First Novel”, “Bibliography”, “Children’s Literature”, “Poetry”) and receives 25 thousand pounds sterling. His work is titled "Book of the Year"
Prix Goncourt(Prix Goncourt) (France) is an annual French literary prize for achievements in the novel genre. The Goncourt Prize is considered one of the most honorable and authoritative in France. And although the size of the prize is nominally symbolic - only 10 euros, the writer is guaranteed large incomes, since after its award, as practice shows, sales of the laureates' books skyrocket.
The Prix Goncourt was officially established in 1896, but began to be awarded only in 1902. The Goncourt brothers left a huge fortune, which, according to the will of Edmond Goncourt, passed to the Academy of Goncourt, officially established in 1896. It includes ten of the most famous writers in France, who receive a symbolic fee - 60 francs per year. Each academy member has only one vote and can only cast it for one book. The President of the Academy has two votes.
Members of the Goncourt Academy at different times were the writers A. Daudet, J. Renard, Rosny Sr., F. Eria, E. Bazin, Louis Aragon and others. The first laureate of the Prix Goncourt in 1903 was John-Antoine Naud for his novel Hostile force.
The laureates of the Prix Goncourt were Ahmad Kuruma, Francois Salvain, Amelie Nothomb, Jean-Jacques Choul.
In addition to the Goncourt Prize, in France there are such literary awards as Renaudo, Medici, Femina, and Goncourt for Lyceum Students.
Femina is one of the oldest literary prizes in France, established in 1904. It awards the prize to the best French novel, foreign novel, essays.
Pulitzer Prize(USA) is one of the most prestigious US awards in the field of literature, journalism, music and theater, and since 1942 - in the field of photojournalism.
The prize was founded by the Hungarian-born American newspaper magnate Joseph Pulitzer. At the end of the 19th century. he skillfully attracted the attention of readers to the newspapers he published. Having lived 65 years, Joseph Pulitzer died in October 1911, leaving an unexpected will - his last will was the establishment of the School of Journalism at Columbia University and the founding of a foundation named after him. They were left with $2 million for this.
Since 1917, the Pulitzer Prize has been awarded annually on the first Monday in May by the trustees of Columbia University. The formal announcement of the award is traditionally made by the President of Columbia University in April of each year.
In the field of journalism, the award does not come with a cash prize, but is a gold medal for “Service to the Fatherland” awarded to the publication itself, and not to its journalists. In other areas, the decision is made by an independent jury of 90 experts. The amount of the award is 10 thousand dollars.
National Book Award(USA). Founded in 1950 by a group of publishers. The prize is awarded in four categories: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and children's literature. The prize is approximately $10,000 for the laureates, $1,000 for the nominees, a statuette and a medal for contributions to American literature. Sponsor: American National Book Foundation.
Prize named after Cervantes(Spain) is often called the Nobel Prize for Literature in the Spanish-speaking world. It was established in 1979 by the Spanish Ministry of Culture. Bonus fund – 90 thousand euros. The prize is presented by the King of Spain on April 23 of each year - the day of Cervantes' death.
Among the award winners are the Spaniard Francisco Umbral, the Chilean Jorge Edwards, and the Spaniard Sanchez Ferlosio.
Prize named after Romulo Gallegosa(Spain) Established in 1967 in memory of the Venezuelan novelist and former president of the country, Rómulo Gallegos. The prize is awarded annually for the best novel written in Spanish and is considered one of the most generous in the Spanish-speaking world: the award is $100,000 and a medal.
State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of literature and art, starting from 1992, is awarded annually in the amount of 300 thousand rubles, since 2005 its amount is 100 thousand dollars. The position of chairman of the commission is traditionally held by the heads of the presidential administration. Candidates for the prize are nominated by the editors of newspapers and magazines, publishing houses and public organizations. Among the laureates are V.S. Makanin, V.N. Voinovich, A.G. Volos, K.Ya. Vanshenkin, D. Granin, V.I. Belov, K.H. Ibragimov, G.M. Kruzhkov.
State Prize for the most talented works for children and youth established by presidential decree in 1998. Boris Zakhoder became the 1999 laureate.
State Pushkin Prize of Russia established in June 1994 by decree of the President of the Russian Federation in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of A.S. Pushkin - “for the creation of the most talented works in the field of poetry.” Awarded on a competitive basis annually since 1995 by the President of the Russian Federation on the proposal of the Commission for State Prizes in the Field of Literature and Art under the President of the Russian Federation. Nomination of candidates is carried out by federal executive authorities, executive authorities of the constituent entities of the federation, enterprises, institutions and organizations, public associations, educational institutions, editorial offices of newspapers and magazines. Works submitted for the prize are considered by a special commission (section) chaired by I. Shklyarevsky as part of the commission for State Prizes of the Russian Federation. In 1999, the cash bonus was increased to 1,600 times the minimum wage.
B. Okudzhava Prize established in 1998. The prize winners are poets and creators of original songs for outstanding works. Awarded in the amount of two hundred times minimum size remuneration established by the legislation of the Russian Federation. At different times, the prize was received by Yuli Kim, Dmitry Sukharev, Alexander Dolsky, Yuri Ryashentsev.
Booker – Open Russia(Russian Booker Prize – Russian Booker, Small Booker Prize) - awarded since 1992 from the funds of a benefactor who for many years wished to remain anonymous. In 2000, his name was revealed - this is the English public figure Francis Green. Since 2002, the general sponsor of the award has been the Regional public organization"Open Russia". The award became known as “Booker – Open Russia”.
Since 2003, the reward has been $15,000; shortlisted finalists receive $1,000.
Initially, the Small Booker Prize was a kind of branch of the “big” Booker Prize. Currently, the Small Booker is awarded not for a novel, but every year for works of different genres. The goal is to encourage the most innovative and supportable directions in the literary process. IN different years The Small Booker was awarded: for best book stories (Viktor Pelevin, Blue lantern), for the best debut in prose (Sergey Gandlevsky ( cm. MOSCOW TIME , Craniotomy), for the best magazines of Russian abroad (“Spring”, “Riga”, “Idiot”, “Vitebsk”), for the best work reflecting the history of literature (Mikhail Gasparov, Featured Articles, Alexander Goldstein (Tel Aviv), Breaking up with Narcissist) and others. In 1999, the prize was awarded for a work that develops the essay genre in Russian literature - the laureate was Vladimir Bibikhin for the book New Renaissance. In 2000, the Yuryatin Foundation (Perm, a group of curators of 4 people) received the award for a literary project, that is, organizational activities for collecting, organizing and presenting literary texts that implement certain ideas and concepts. The prize was awarded for book publishing work (publishing books by authors of modern Russian diaspora, significant authors of the province, young authors of Perm, local history literature), organization and support in Perm of the “Literary Environments in the House of Smyshlyaev” salon, where many famous contemporary writers spoke, especially for this who came to Perm, and a lecture hall where humanities scholars Georgy Gachev, Mikhail Ryklin, Igor Smirnov, Boris Dubin, Sergei Khoruzhy gave short courses of lectures.
The longlist and shortlist of the Big and Small Russian Booker are published in the fall. The shortlist is announced and commented on at a special press conference. The winner is announced in December.
In 2000, the Small Booker Prize was organizationally separated from the Big Booker Prize.
The prize is awarded by a jury that changes partly every year. In addition, every year special experts are invited to work on the jury in the area that this year is encouraged by the Small Booker.
Pushkin Prize of the German Alfred Tepfer Foundation. The Alfred Tepfler Foundation became the source of a whole system of rewarding cultural and scientific figures in European countries. The Pushkin Prize was founded in 1989 to reward writers writing in Russian for outstanding contributions to Russian literature. The prize is 40,000 euros and is awarded with the participation of the Russian Pen Center. Along with the prize, two scholarships of 6 thousand euros each are awarded annually to young writers. Among the recipients are Andrey Bitov, Evgeny Rein.
Andrei Bely Literary Prize. Established in the cultural underground ( cm. SAMIZDAT) in 1978 by the samizdat magazine “Hours” (editors B. Ivanov and B. Ostanin) as the first regular non-state literary award in the history of Russia. The names of the laureates were determined by an anonymous jury. The bonus was a bottle of white wine, an apple, one ruble (similar to the Goncourt franc) and a diploma. Among the laureates, who, as a rule, represented the avant-garde and postmodern sectors of the literary underground, are poets Viktor Krivulin (1978), Elena Shvarts (1979), Vladimir Aleinikov (1980), Alexander Mironov (1981), Olga Sedakova (1983), Alexey Parshchikov ( 1986), Gennady Aigi (1987), Ivan Zhdanov (1988), Alexander Gornoy (1991), Shamshad Abdullaev (1994); prose writers Arkady Dragomoshchenko (1978), Boris Kudryakov (1979), Boris Dyshlenko (1980), Sasha Sokolov (1981), Evgeny Kharitonov (1981; posthumously), Tamara Korvin (1983), Vasily Aksenov (1985), Leon Bogdanov (1986) , Andrey Bitov (1988), Yuri Mamleev (1991); critics and cultural scientists Boris Groys (1978), Evgeny Shiffers (1979), Yuri Novikov (1980), Efim Barban (1981), Boris Ivanov (1983), Vladimir Erl (1986), Vladimir Malyavin (1988), Mikhail Epstein (1991) .
After a break, the prize was recreated by M. Berg, B. Ivanov, B. Ostanin and V. Krivulin in 1997. According to the founders, it was given “the character of a national cultural institute, which aims to support the experimental and intellectual direction in Russian literature, searches in the field of language , reflecting changes in the mentality and speech practice of the new generation, but taking into account the experience of Russian modernism, most clearly expressed in the work of Andrei Bely, whose significance we consider unchanged against the backdrop of the most incredible changes in our cultural climate.”
Awarded in four categories: poetry, prose, criticism and cultural theory. There is also an award “for special merits”, which remains, as before, the prerogative of an anonymous jury. To the traditional financial reward is added a notarized agreement for the publication of a book of the laureate’s essays over the next year in the special series “Andrei Bely Prize Laureates.” The names of the laureates were first announced in St. Petersburg, later as part of the Moscow Exhibition-Fair of Intellectual Books, on Andrei Bely’s birthday - October 26.
Antibooker – annual bonus; created in 1995 under Nezavisimaya Gazeta. Since 1996, it has been awarded separately for prose (“The Brothers Karamazov”), poetry (“The Stranger”) and drama (“Three Sisters”). Since 1997, the prize has been awarded for literary criticism and literary criticism (“Ray of Light”) and non-fiction (“Fourth Prose”) since 2000.
Aelita– Russia’s oldest prize for science fiction prose, was established in 1982 by the Union of Writers of the RSFSR and the editors of the Ural Pathfinder magazine. Awarded annually for the best science fiction book of the previous two years at the festival of science fiction lovers in Yekaterinburg. The amount of monetary reward is not disclosed. The first honorary laureates of the Aelita Prize were A. and B. Strugatsky.
Prize« Debut»established in 2000 International Foundation“Generation” for authors under 25 years old writing in Russian. Has seven nominations: “Large Prose”, “Small Prose”, “Poetry”, “Drama”, “Film Story”, “Publicism”, “Literature of Spiritual Search”. The winners in all five categories receive the honorary “Bird” prize.
All-Russian Literary Prize named after St. blg. Prince Alexander Nevsky« Faithful sons of Russia» established by the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra with the blessing of Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg and Ladoga with the support of the Writers' Union of Russia. Awarded in the categories “Poetry”, “Fiction”, “Documentary and journalistic prose”, “Book for children”, “Criticism and literary criticism”, “Magazine and Newspaper”. The commission consists of priests, members of the Writers' Union of Russia. The main principles for determining the winners are high artistic style based on Orthodox spirituality, professionalism, historical authenticity, and patriotic orientation.
The prize is awarded annually in January. For first places the medal “Literary Prize named after St. Blessed Virgin Mary” is awarded. Book Alexander Nevsky", a certificate and a cash prize of $2,000. For second and third places - certificates and cash prizes. The first place winners receive the right to become members of the commission for the next year. Among the awarded are Yu. Kozlov, E. Yushin.
National Prize named after. A. and B. Strugatsky(ABC Award) was established in 1999 by the “Center for Contemporary Literature and Books” with the assistance of the literary community of St. Petersburg and the support of the administration and Legislative Assembly St. Petersburg. The award encourages “realistic trends in fiction, connections with the past, present and future of real earthly people.”
Prize laureates E. Lukin, V. Mikhailov, M. Uspensky, N. Galkina, S. Lukyanenko, V. Pelevin.
Apollo Grigoriev Prize established in 1997 by the Academy of Russian Contemporary Literature as a “professional expert prize for the best work of the year in all genres, except criticism, literary criticism and cultural studies.” Sponsors of the award are ONEXIMbank (1997), State Bank (since 1998). Nominators are all members of the Academy. A jury is selected by lot (chairmen: 1997 - Pyotr Weil; 1998 - Alexander Ageev; 1999 - Sergey Chuprinin; 2000 - Alla Latynina; 2001 - Evgeny Sidorov; 2002 - Andrey Nemzer), which determines three laureates, and then announces the winner of the main prize. The main prize is awarded $25,000; other laureates are awarded laptops and printers (a writer's workstation) worth $2,500 each.
Ivan Petrovich Belkin Prize, established by the EKSMO publishing house and the Znamya magazine, is the only prize in Russia named after a literary hero, established in 2001. Awarded for the best Russian story of the year. Editorial boards of newspapers and magazines have the right to nominate creative organizations, as well as professional literary critics. Monetary reward: the laureate - 5 thousand dollars, the authors of the remaining four stories included in the short list are rewarded in amounts of 500 dollars. The coordinator of the award is Natalya Ivanova. Chairmen of the jury: in 2001 - Fazil Iskander, in 2002 - Leonid Zorin.
« Bronze snail» Established in 1992 by Andrei Nikolaev and Alexander Sidorovich as the personal prize of B.N. Strugatsky (he is the chairman and only member of the prize jury). Awarded in the categories “Large Form”, “Medium Form”, “Small Form”, “Criticism/Publicism” at the traditional annual conferences of science fiction writers, critics, translators, and publishers in Repino near St. Petersburg.
Prize« Northern Palmyra"established in 1994. Awarded by the jury (O. Basilashvili, A. German, Y. Gordin, A. Dodin, A. Panchenko, A. Petrov, B. Strugatsiy, A. Ariev, etc.) for a literary work created in Russian language and published in St. Petersburg, in nominations: poetry; prose; journalism and criticism; book publishing. The prize was sponsored by the Credit Petersburg Bank (1995) and the St. Petersburg Bank for Reconstruction and Development (1996). According to the regulations, the nomination commission analyzes St. Petersburg literature throughout the year and nominates the most talented works, in its opinion. Upon completion of this work, 7 applicants remain in each section of the award. Voting takes place anonymously, works are not discussed so that jury members do not put pressure on each other.
Literary Prize named after. Alexandra Solzhenitsyn is awarded by the foundation, founded by A.I. Solzhenitsyn in 1997, as a reward to Russian writers “whose work has high artistic merit, contributes to the self-knowledge of Russia, and makes a significant contribution to the preservation and careful development of the traditions of Russian literature.” The prize may be awarded for a novel, a story or collection of stories, a book or series of poems, a play, a collection of articles, or research. The permanent jury includes A. Solzhenitsyn, N. Struve, V. Nepomnyashchy, L. Saraskina, P. Basinsky, N. Solzhenitsyn. The monetary amount of the award is 25 thousand dollars.
Triumph. Awarded by the Russian Independent Promotion Foundation highest achievements literature and art, established by LogoVAZ JSC in the summer of 1992. The names of applicants are proposed by jury members, as well as experts, and are not announced in advance. The names of the laureates are determined by a permanent jury, which includes V. Aksenov, A. Voznesensky
International Sholokhov Prize established in 1993 by the magazine "Young Guard", the publishing house "Modern Writer" (now "Soviet Writer"), MSPS and the writers' joint-stock company. The current founders are MSPS, the Union of Artists of Russia, the publishing house "Soviet Writer", Moscow State Open Pedagogical University named after. M.A. Sholokhova. The permanent chairman of the jury is Yu. Bondarev. The monetary support for the prize is not disclosed; the laureates are awarded diplomas and medals.
National bestseller. Established in 2000 by the National Bestseller Foundation. Nominated for the award prose works in Russian. The winner receives a prize of 10 thousand dollars. Among the awarded are M. Shishkin, V. Pelevin, A. Garrosa and A. Evdokimov, A. Prokhanov and L. Yuzefovich.
Prize named after P.P.Bazhova established in November 1999 on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the writer by the Sverdlovsk branch of the Literary Fund of Russia and the financial and industrial group “Jewels of the Urals”. The competition has actually stepped beyond the regional framework and acquired the status of an all-Russian one. The prize is awarded annually for achievements in literary activity not only to representatives of the Ural region, but also to writers from other Russian territories for works on Ural themes. Five nominations: “Prose”, “Poetry”, “Drama”, “Literary Studies”, “Publicism”. Each laureate receives a sum of money in the amount of 10 thousand rubles, as well as specially cast gold and silver medals.
Prize named after Boyana established by the Council of Governors of border cities and regions of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. The Regulations on the Prize say that it is “awarded for works that carry the light of Slavic spirituality, rooted in Slavic mythology and folklore and affirming the ideas of friendship and brotherhood of the Slavic peoples.”
Prize named after F.M.Dostoevsky was established by the Writers' Union of Russia together with the Association of Russian Writers of Estonia and the non-profit association “Prize named after. F.M. Dostoevsky ". It was first awarded in the year of the 180th anniversary of the writer’s birth. The prize is awarded to writers who have made a significant contribution to the development and popularization of Russian literature and culture, both in Estonia and Russia, and in other countries.
Among the awarded are Valentin Rasputin, Geir Kjotso, Anna Vedernikova, Anatoly Builov, Rostislav Titov, B.N. Tarasov.
Prize named after Igor Severyanin was established by the Russian faction of the Riigikogu and is awarded annually to cultural figures who have made a significant contribution to the development and popularization of Russian cultural life in Estonia and Estonian among the Russian-speaking population of the country.
All-Russian Literary Prize named after Sergei Yesenin« O Rus', flap your wings..."is an annual open competition of works by Russian poets, established by the National Foundation for the Development of Culture and Tourism and the Union of Writers of Russia in 2005. Awarded in four categories: "Big Prize" - poetic works (poems and poems) are accepted for the competition; "With a Seeking Look" - critical works on Russian poetry, “Song Word” – texts of poems set to music (at least 3), “Russian Hope” – poetry of young people (18–30 years old). No later than October 3 of the current year, the award committee announces the names of the laureates.
Contest« Scarlet Sails"for the best publications for children and youth was established in 2003 by the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Press, Television and Radio Broadcasting and Mass Communications.
As the development of modern literature shows, literary awards have become an integral part of literary life, presenting unique ratings of works and writers. Of course, this method of labeling raises certain criticisms due to the subjectivity of choice, bias (when they choose “their own”), considerations of the political situation, etc. However, despite all the disadvantages, the practice of awarding literary prizes will obviously continue, since it represents a clear and accessible way of structuring and evaluating literary works.
Irina Ermakova
Hugo Award
This award can be called one of the most democratic: its laureates are determined by voting by registered participants of the World Convention of Science Fiction Fans WorldCon (therefore the award is considered a “reader’s award”). The Hugo Award is a literary award for science fiction. It was established in 1953 and is named after Hugo Gernsback, the creator of the first specialized science fiction magazines. The prize is awarded annually for best works in the genre of fiction, published in English. The winners are awarded a figurine in the form of a taking off rocket. The prize is awarded in the following categories:
. Best Novel
. Best Novella
. Best short story (Best Novellette)
. Best Short Story
. Best Science Fiction Book (Best Related Book)
. Best production, large form (Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form)
. Best production, small form (Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form)
. Best Professional Editor
. Best Professional Artist
. Best semi-professional magazine (Best SemiProzine)
. Best Fanzine. Best Fan Writer
. Best Fan Artist
The list of winners of this and other science fiction awards can be found on the Russian Science Fiction website (www.rusf.ru). Separately, the John Campbell Award is awarded to the “Most Promising New Author of the Year”, which is awarded to a debut science fiction writer. Along with the Hugo Award, the Gandalf Award is sometimes awarded - not for a specific work, but for a significant contribution to the development of the fantasy genre.
Cervantes Prize
The Cervantes Literary Prize, established by the Spanish Ministry of Culture in 1975, is valued in the Spanish-speaking world no less than the Nobel Prize. The monetary part of the “Spanish Nobel Prize” is 90 thousand euros, it is awarded annually to the next laureate by the King of All Spain, Juan Carlos, in the homeland of the author of “Don Quixote” - in the town of Alcala de Henares, which is 50 kilometers from Madrid.
James Tait Award
Britain's oldest literary award is the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, awarded by the University of Edinburgh since 1919 to the best novelists and biographical writers. Its laureates at various times were Evelyn Waugh, Iris Murdoch, Graham Greene, and Ian McEwan.
Orange Award
For women writers in Great Britain who write in English, there is the Orange Prize. The winners are awarded a bronze statuette with the affectionate name Bessie and a check for the pleasant sum of £30,000. The jury of the award is exclusively women. http://www.orangeprize.co.uk/
Nobel Prize in Literature
The prize, founded by Swedish chemical engineer, inventor and industrialist Alfred Bernhard Nobel and named after him as the Nobel Prize, is the world's most prestigious and most criticized. Of course, this is largely due to the size of the Nobel Prize: the award consists of a gold medal with the image of A. Nobel and the corresponding inscription, a diploma and, most importantly, a check for a sum of money. The size of the latter depends on the profits of the Nobel Foundation. According to Nobel's will, drawn up on November 27, 1895, his capital (initially over 31 million Swedish crowns) was invested in shares, bonds and loans. The income from them is divided annually into 5 equal parts and becomes prizes for the most outstanding world achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and for activities to strengthen peace. Particular passions flare up around the Nobel Prize in Literature. The main complaints against the Swedish Academy in Stockholm (it is the one that identifies the most worthy writers) are the decisions of the Nobel Committee themselves, and the fact that they are made in strict secrecy. The Nobel Committee announces only the number of applicants for a particular prize, but does not name their names. Gossips They also claim that the prize is sometimes given for political reasons, not literary motives. The main trump card of critics and detractors is Leo Tolstoy, Nabokov, Joyce, Borges, who were passed over for the Nobel Prize... The prize is awarded annually on December 10 - the anniversary of Nobel's death. The Swedish king traditionally awards Nobel writers in Stockholm. Within 6 months after receiving the Nobel Prize, the laureate must give a Nobel lecture on the topic of his work.
International Prize named after G.-H. Andersen
For the appearance of this prize, we must thank the German writer Jelle Lepmann (1891-1970). And not only for this. It was Mrs. Lepman who achieved that, by decision of UNESCO, the birthday of G.-H. Andersen, April 2, became International Children's Book Day. She also initiated the creation of the International Council on Children's and Youth Books (IBBY), an organization uniting writers, artists, literary scholars, and librarians from more than sixty countries. Since 1956, IBBY has awarded the International G.-H. Andersen, which with the light hand of the same Ella Lepman is called the “little Nobel Prize” for children's literature. Since 1966, this award has also been given to illustrators of children's books. The laureates receive a gold medal with the profile of a great storyteller every 2 years at the next IBBY congress. The award is given only to living writers and artists.
Astrid Lindgren International Literary Prize
The Swedish government, immediately after Lindgren's death, decided to establish a literary prize named after the world-famous storyteller. “I hope that the Prize will serve the dual purpose of serving as a reminder of Astrid and her life's work, as well as promoting and promoting good children's literature,” said Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson. The annual International Literary Award by Astrid Lingren (The Astrid Lingren Memorial Award) “For works for children and youth” should attract world attention to literature for children and adolescents and to children's rights. Therefore, it can be awarded not only to a writer or artist for an exceptional contribution to the development of children's books, but also for any activity to promote reading and protect children's rights. The monetary content of the award is also attractive - 500,000 euros. The lucky winners of the award are determined by 12 honorary citizens of the country, members of the State Cultural Council of Sweden. By tradition, the name of the laureate of this award is announced every year in March in Astrid Lindgren's homeland. The award is presented to the laureate in May in Stockholm.
Grintsane Cavour
In 2001, UNESCO declared the Grinzane Cavour Prize an “exemplary institute for international culture.” Despite its short history (established in Turin in 1982), the prize is one of the most prestigious literary awards Europe. It received its name from the 13th century Turin castle: Count Benso Cavour, the first prime minister of united Italy, used to live there, and now the headquarters of the award is located there. The main goal of “Grinzane Cavour” is to introduce the younger generation to literature, for which the jury includes both venerable literary critics and schoolchildren. About a thousand teenagers from Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, the Czech Republic, the USA, Cuba, and Japan vote for the books of the authors nominated for the award. http://www.grinzane.it/
Prix Goncourt
France's main literary prize, the Prix Goncourt, established in 1896 and awarded since 1902, is awarded to the author of the best novel or collection of short stories of the year in French, not necessarily living in France. It bears the name of the French classics Goncourt brothers - Edmond Louis Antoine (1832-1896) and Jules Alfred Huot (1830-1869). The younger, Edmond, bequeathed his enormous fortune to the literary Academy, which became known as the Goncourt Academy and established an annual prize of the same name. The Goncourt Academy includes 10 of the most famous writers in France, who work for a nominal fee - 60 francs per year. Everyone has one vote and can cast it for one book, only the president has two votes. Members of the Goncourt Academy at different times were the writers A. Daudet, J. Renard, Rosny Sr., F. Eria, E. Bazin, Louis Aragon... Now the charter of the Goncourt Academy has changed: now the age of the jury members of the prestigious Goncourt Prize should not exceed 80 years. Initially, the prize was conceived as a reward for young writers for original talent, new and bold searches for content and form.
Booker Prize
Any resident of the Commonwealth of Nations or Ireland whose novel in English is considered worthy of worldwide fame and 50 thousand pounds sterling can receive the Booker Prize. The award has been presented since 1969, sponsored by the Man Group since 2002, and officially named The Man Booker Prize. First, a list of approximately one hundred books is compiled by an annual advisory committee of publishers and representatives of the writing world, literary agents, booksellers, libraries and the Man Booker Prize Foundation. The committee approves a jury of five people - famous literary critics, writers, scientists, and public figures. In August, the jury announces a “long list” of 20-25 novels, in September - six participants in the “short list”, and in October - the laureate himself. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the award, a special award"Booker of all time." Its laureate was to be the booker, whose work was considered by readers to be the best novel in all the years of the prize's existence. In 2008, the cash portion of the prize was more than one hundred thousand US dollars (50 thousand pounds).
International Booker Prize
This prize was established in 2005 and is a “relative” of the regular Booker. It is awarded once every 2 years to the author for piece of art, written in English or available to the general reader in translation into it.
The Carnegie Medal
The word “medal” can be found in the names of many “children’s literature” awards. For example, the vast majority of writers would consider it an honor to receive The Carnegie Medal. This one is very prestigious award awarded since 1936 and always enjoys the attention of the general public. The jury consists of representatives of the librarians' association. List of laureates: http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/carnegie/list.html
IMPAC
The world's largest prize for a single literary work is 100 thousand euros. It is awarded to the winners of the international IMPAC award, established in 1996 by Dublin City Council. In this city, glorified by Joyce, the award ceremony takes place. Although the headquarters of the international company IMPAC (Improved Management Productivity and Control), whose name the award bears, is located in Florida and has no direct connection with literature. IMPAC, a global leader in productivity improvement, works on projects for major corporations and organizations in 65 countries. To be eligible, a work must be written or translated into English and be able to withstand intense international competition, with 185 library systems in 51 countries eligible to nominate candidates. Award website
Initially awarded only for scientific works, it began to be awarded for outstanding works of literature and art only in 1957.
The first and only unofficial award in the field of culture in the USSR was the Andrei Bely Prize, established in 1978 by the Leningrad samizdat magazine “Hours”.
Prizes of the Russian Empire
Demidov Prize
Status- national scientific award.
Period- from to 1865.
Founder- Pavel Demidov.
Awarded- St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
Target- “to promote the success of sciences, literature and industry in one’s homeland.”
Prize- 20,000 rubles in state banknotes annually: two full bonuses of 5,000 rubles and four half bonuses of 2,500.
Uvarov Prize
Status- national prize for essays on Russian history and dramatic works.
Period- from to 1876, when dramatic works were excluded from the number of works that could participate in the competition for awards.
Founder- Alexey Uvarov (in memory of father Sergei Uvarov).
Awarded- St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
Target- to encourage Russian writers to study Russian and Slavic history.
Prize- 3000 rubles annually: one large award of 1500 rubles, two smaller ones of 500 rubles and one incentive award of 500 rubles (for carrying out research proposed by the Academy).
Lomonosov Prize
Status- national prize for achievements in various fields of knowledge, including literature.
Period- from to 1918.
Founder- the government of the Russian Empire (in memory of the services rendered by Mikhail Lomonosov to domestic education).
Awarded- St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
Pushkin Prize
Status- national prize “for original works of fine literature in prose and poetry printed in Russian.”
Period- from to 1919 every two years (in 1888–1895 - annually).
Founder- St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
Awarded- Department of Russian Language and Literature of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
Prize- full bonus of 1000 rubles or half bonus of 500 rubles.
Griboyedov Prize
Status- national award for the best play of the theater season.
Period- from to 1917.
Founder- Society of Russian Dramatic Writers and Opera Composers.
Alexander Kireev Prize
Status- National Award for the best dramatic essay.
Period- only 1915.
Founder- St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
Stalin Prize in Literature and Art
Status
Period- from to 1952.
Founder- Council of People's Commissars of the USSR.
Awarded- Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. The nominations of the laureates were presented by the Committee for the Stalin Prizes in Literature and Art.
Target
Prize- three prizes of 100,000 rubles in each of four categories in the field of literature.
IN Soviet encyclopedias and reference books of the 1960–1980s, its former laureates were retroactively renamed “State Prize laureates,” that is, the prize was equated to the official State Prize.
Lenin Prize in Literature and Art
Status- State Prize for outstanding creative achievements in the field of literature.
Period- from 1991 every two years.
Founder- Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR.
Awarded
Target- encouragement of citizens of the USSR for creative achievements in the field of literature.
Prize- five prizes: diploma, gold medal and 10,000 rubles.
USSR State Prize in the field of literature, art and architecture
Status- the second most important literary prize in the USSR after the Lenin Prize.
Period- from to 1991.
Founder- Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR.
Awarded- Committee for Lenin and State Prizes in the field of science and art under the Council of Ministers of the USSR after approval by the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR.
Target
Prize
State Prize of the RSFSR named after Maxim Gorky
Status- State Prize for outstanding creative achievements in the field of literature.
Period- from to 1991.
Founder- Council of Ministers of the RSFSR.
Target- encouragement of authors for the most talented, highly ideological works of literature.
Prize- diploma and badge of honor indicating the year the award was awarded.
Lenin Komsomol Prize
Status- literary prize for young authors.
Period- from to 1991.
Founder- Central Committee of the Komsomol.
Target- encouragement of young authors for outstanding achievements in the field of literature.
Prize- diploma and badge.
USSR KGB Prize in the field of literature and art
Status- literary prize for creating works about the work of Soviet state security agencies.
Period- from to 1988.
Founder- State Security Committee of the USSR.
Andrey Bely Prize
Status- the first regular unofficial award in the field of culture in the USSR.
Period- since 1978.
Founder- "Watch" magazine.
Prize- one ruble, a bottle of vodka and an apple.
Alfred Töpfer Foundation Pushkin Prize
Status- a prize to reward authors who have made an outstanding contribution to Russian literature and have been translated into many languages of the world.
Period- from to years (in 2000–2003 - once every two years).
Founder- Alfred Töpfer Foundation.
Awarded- May 26 (on the birthday of Alexander Pushkin according to the old style) in Moscow, a jury from the GDR (Wolf Schmid and Helene von Sakhno) and the USSR (Yuri Gribov and Dmitry Urnov, then Andrei Bitov and Oleg Chukhontsev, then Andrei Bitov Sergei Bocharov).
Prize- 40,000 marks (in 2000–2003 - 30,000 marks). Two scholarships to travel to Germany, worth 6,000 marks each, were also awarded to enable young writers to establish contacts with German writers, publishers and translators, as well as to become acquainted with the German literary process.
State Prizes of the Russian Federation
State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of literature and art
Status- state prize for contribution to the development of literature.
Period- since 1992.
Founder- President of Russian Federation .
Awarded- by decree of the President at the proposal of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Culture and Art.
Target- encouragement of citizens of the Russian Federation for the creation of particularly significant literary works.
Prize- three prizes: a diploma, a badge of honor and a tailcoat badge, 5,000,000 rubles.
State Pushkin Prize
Status- state prize for creating the most talented works in the field of poetry.
Period- from to 2005.
Founder- President of Russian Federation .
Awarded- on a competitive basis by decree of the President on the proposal of the Commission under the President of the Russian Federation for State Prizes in the field of literature and art.
Target- encouraging the creation of talented works in the field of poetry.
Prize- initially monetary reward in the amount of 400 minimum wages, later - in the amount of 1,600 minimum wages.
Prize of the President of the Russian Federation in the field of literature and art
Status- state prize for outstanding creative and scientific contribution to the artistic culture of Russia.
Period- from to 2005.
Founder
Awarded
Target- encouragement of artistic creativity and scientific research in the field of culture.
Prize- ten awards: a diploma, a commemorative medal and a cash reward in the amount of 600 minimum wages.
State Prize for works for children and youth
Status- state prize for outstanding works for children and youth.
Period- since 1998.
Founder- President of Russian Federation.
Awarded- Commission under the President of the Russian Federation for State Prizes in the field of literature and art.
State Prize named after Bulat Okudzhava
Status- state prize for the creation of outstanding poetic works and the highest achievements in the genre of original song.
Period- from 1998 to 2004.
Founder- President of Russian Federation.
Awarded- Commission under the President of the Russian Federation for State Prizes in the field of literature and art.
Target- encouragement of Russian poets, as well as creators and performers of songs of their own composition.
Federal departmental awards of the Russian Federation
Award of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation
Status- a prize for authors (teams of authors) of the best works in the field of literature devoted to the activities of Russian foreign intelligence and its employees.
Period- from the year 2000.
Founder- Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation.
Prize- three prizes: diploma, badge, 120,000 rubles.
Award of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation
Status- a prize for authors of literary works for creating “at a high artistic level the image of employees of state security agencies and objective coverage of their activities.”
Period- since 2006.
Founder- Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation.
Prize- a memorial sign with FSB symbols, cash reward (first place - 100,000 rubles, second - 50,000 rubles, third - 25,000).
Prizes of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation
Prize of the Administration of the Krasnodar Territory named after Epistinia Fedorovna Stepanova
Status- literary prize of the Krasnodar region.
Period- since 1978.
Founder- Krasnodar Society of Book Lovers (since 2001 it has the status of a prize from the Administration of the Krasnodar Territory).
Awarded- June 22 in the city of Timashevsk, Krasnodar Territory, at the Stepanov family museum, by decree of the governor of the Krasnodar Territory.
Target- encouraging the creation of talented literary, artistic and journalistic works by Kuban authors.
Unknown Petersburg
Status- literary prize of St. Petersburg.
Period- since 2013.
Founder- Governor of St. Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko (to the 310th anniversary of St. Petersburg).
Awarded- by the government of St. Petersburg together with the St. Petersburg House of Writers.
Prize- diploma, cash prize. Based on the results of the competition, collections with the works of the laureates and the best works of the participants are published annually.
Non-state awards of the Russian Federation
Prizes of the Writers' Union of the Russian Federation
All-Russian Literary Prize "Vasily Terkin" named after Alexander Trifonovich Tvardovsky
Status- a prize for writers, poets and journalists for highly artistic works that contain the original folk poetic principle, ineradicable vitality, patience and faith in the triumph of the ideals of Russia.
Period- since 1995.
Founders- Union of Writers of Russia, Administration of the Smolensk Region.
Awarded- June 21 (on the birthday of Alexander Tvardovsky) on the Zagorye farm, Pochinkovsky district, Smolensk region.
Prize- three prizes: diploma, 10,000 rubles.
All-Russian Literary Prize "Stalingrad"
Status- a prize for authors writing about the war for works that reflect the courage, feat, dignity of Russians, and their service to the Fatherland.
Period- from 1995 to 2013.
Founders- Union of Writers of Russia, Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Volgograd Regional Administration
Awarded- in Volgograd during the celebration of the anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War Governor of the Volgograd region.
Prize- diploma, honorary silver badge.
All-Russian Literary Prize named after Pavel Vasiliev
Status- bonus.
Period- since 1997.
Founders- Union of Writers of Russia, Administration of the Omsk Region.
Target- to note the outstanding significance of the creative heritage of Pavel Vasiliev and his special contribution to national culture, to support modern writers who create epic works and works.
Prize- 50,000 rubles
Great Literary Prize of Russia
Status- a prize for authors of poetic, prose, dramatic works that are distinguished by their fidelity to domestic traditions in literature, deep penetration into the moral and psychological foundations of human existence, society, the state, and the life of a working person.
Period- from the year 2000.
Founders- Union of Writers of Russia and Joint Stock Company "ALROSA".
Target- combine the efforts of intellectual, literary and economic Russia in the designation of iconic names in modern Russian literature.
Prize- three prizes: diploma, cash reward (first place - $15,000, second - $10,000, third - $5,000).
All-Russian Prize named after Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy
Status- award to authors of prose and journalistic works for creative contribution to development Russian literature.
Period- since 2001 (every two years).
Founders- Union of Writers of Russia, administration of the city of Syzran, Interregional Literary Center of Vasily Shukshin.
International Literary Prize named after Sergei Yesenin “O Rus', flap your wings...”
Status- international literary prize.
Period- since 2005 (every two years).
Founder- Union of Writers of Russia, Foundation “Osiennaya Rus”.
Target- identifying the most original and talented poetic works, as well as critical works on Russian poetry, popularizing the song principle, attracting reader and public interest in Russian poetry, increasing the prestige of Russian literature, its social significance and role in the development of society and the individual.
All-Russian Literary Prize named after Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov for works for children and youth
Status- bonus.
Period- since 2005.
Founders- Union of Writers of Russia.
Target- support for modern writers who continue the traditions of classical Russian literature for children and youth.
All-Russian Historical and Literary Prize "Alexander Nevsky"
Status- Prize for authors of literary historical works and museum memorial projects.
Period- since 2009.
Founders- PJSC "Talion" and the Union of Writers of Russia.
Target- maintain interest in the history of Russia, the best museum memorial projects and literary works, dedicated to the heroes of the country's history and their deeds for the glory of the Fatherland.
Prize- in two categories: diploma, sculptural image of Alexander Nevsky by Eduard Mkhoyan (first place - gold, second - silver, third - bronze), cash reward (first place - 300,000 rubles, second - 200,000 rubles, third - 100,000 rubles ).
A long list of nominees for Yasnaya Polyana. At the request of The Village, Lisa Birger explains why literary awards are needed in general and whether they can help an amateur begin to navigate modern Russian literature.
Lisa Birger
How and why did literary prizes arise?
Literary awards have existed relatively recently - approximately since the beginning of the twentieth century. We, of course, can consider their forerunners to be the medieval troubadour competitions or the Academy of Sciences awards, which in Tsarist Russia were awarded for works with scientific and educational pathos. But in fact, it is clear that in order for the prize to really have some weight and significance, it is necessary for books to be a market, and literature to be an institution. But this did not happen until the last century, and in some countries (let’s not point fingers) even later. Booksellers need awards to sell books, critics and other market participants need them to identify trends, but most of all, they are needed to build a hierarchy - that is, for order. But since everyone has their own hierarchy, there are very different bonuses.
How many literary prizes are there in Russia?
A lot - much more than you think. There is the Poet Prize and the Debut Prize, the Bunin Prize and the Alexander Solzhenitsyn Prize, prizes established by the Writers' Union and the FSB. Total - several dozen, if not hundreds, but it is not at all necessary to know them all.
If there are so many awards, how do we choose which one is more important than others?
There are two important factors: money, that is, the size of the prize fund, and the quality of the expertise. For example, the Big Book is second in the world (after the Nobel Prize) prize fund- How can you not treat her seriously after this?
The material reward for the Andrei Bely Prize, which existed since 1978, was one ruble, a bottle of vodka and an apple, but the choice here (until everyone quarreled in 2010) was made by professionals, and the prize remained one of the main ones for a long time. It is important how (and by whom!) books are selected, how (and by whom!) they are evaluated, and even which books we want to choose in the end: the brightest? most innovative? Most Popular? The most important? If you are looking for an ideal Russian award, then this is probably one that has almost nothing to do with fiction The Enlightener Prize for the best popular science book in Russian (the 2016 longlist was announced on June 7). Two respected Alexanders, Gavrilov and Arkhangelsky, select books for a long list, from which, in turn, they will compile short list serious scientific jury. The selection criteria here are clear and understandable: artistic fascination and scientific accuracy.
Or maybe there is one, but the most important prize?
Alas. But there are several important ones that together will help you get an idea of what’s going on in modern literature. The “Big Book,” for example, is good because it has three winners (first, second and third place) and a complex selection system with a bunch of experts - which did not prevent it from “losing” two of the most important ones at the short list level this year, if not in general the main books of the year: “Kaleidoscope” by Sergei Kuznetsov and “Shadow of Mazepa” by Sergei Belyakov. “Russian Booker” was supposed to bear the reputation of its British counterpart, but completely lost it in 2010, being awarded the graphomaniac novel “Flower Cross” by Elena Kolyadina. The “national bestseller” keeps trying to follow public taste and, as a result, often slaps good taste in the face. And so on - here, as in dates on Tinder, the further into the forest, the more impossible it is to meet the ideal.
Are so many novels really written in Russia?
But this is the most amazing thing: even in times of obvious publishing crisis, when there are only a few publishing houses throughout the country that still publish new Russian books, you can collect a long list of several dozen titles. And still, some books do not have a place - for example, book blogger Sergei Osipov regularly compiles his own long list of books that are not included in the “Big Book” list.
When the award winners start to coincide, then talk about trouble. This happens rarely, but, for example, in 2015, Guzel Yakhina’s novel “Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes” received both the first “Big Book” award and the “Yasnaya Polyana” award (and “Book of the Year” at the same time). This year, his fate may well be repeated by “Winter Road” by Leonid Yuzefovich, already noted as a “National Best Seller”. On the other hand, it’s easier for us - we’ll have to read less.
Why do awards usually have different winners? Surely they all have to choose the best book?
Different juries, from different short lists compiled by different experts, choose, in general, different things. A more personal choice according to the criterion of “what I liked most” exists only in “Natsbest”, “Big Book” votes for the most significant work of the year, “Russian Booker” tries to give an assessment from a more literary perspective. In addition, many awards (for example, Natsbest) have a rule according to which winners of other awards cannot be nominated for them.
Can premiums be wrong?
And how - what is the award of the “Russian Booker” in 2010 to the helpless graphomaniac and almost five minutes pornographic novel by Elena Kolyadina “Flower Cross”. A recent example is the Poet Prize in 2015: Yuliy Kim became its laureate, after which two former laureates, Alexander Kushner and Evgeny Rein, not the last, to put it mildly, poets of our time, left the jury.
In fact, the fairness (or unfairness) of awarding a prize can most often be assessed only after time. And here - a very telling example - all these expert advice and cunning jury votes sometimes allow you to miss the most important thing. In 2011, “Russian Booker”, not having time to go through the full nomination procedure due to a change of sponsor, decided to choose not the best book of the year, but general ledger decades from the nominees of previous years. The winner was Alexander Chudakov’s almost unnoticed novel “A Darkness Falls on the Old Steps” from the shortlist for the 2001 Booker Prize. Only ten years later it became clear that this autobiographical “idyll novel” about how one could live the twentieth century with honor turned out to be more important than the fantasies about this very century by Mikhail Shishkin and Lyudmila Ulitskaya.
What to do if it doesn’t get any easier?
The simplest thing is not to try to understand all the awards at once, but to choose the one that you like best and read all its nominees. A short list of literary awards for your reference looks something like this: “Big Book”, “Russian Booker”, “National Bestseller”, “NOS”, “Yasnaya Polyana”. Well, there is also the “Enlightener” award, the laureates (and shortlisted nominees) of which you should read all of them in their entirety, if you read anything at all.
"Big Book"
Prize with ambition
A huge prize fund, a complex system of nominations, several winners and an attempt at all levels to involve as many experts as possible: in the Literary Academy alone, which determines the winners by voting, there are about a hundred people. Thanks to all this, the Big Book, which has existed since 2005, managed to achieve the status of almost the main prize in Russia. It may not yet influence the literary process (the winner will not wake up famous), but it fully reflects its course.
Procedure:
From the nominated works (almost anyone can nominate a book or manuscript), a council of experts first selects a long list (April), then a short list (May), and then the books on the short list are read for six months and given points by members of the Literary Academy of the Prize. If there are about a hundred people in the academy itself, then the council of experts is narrow and strict and consists mainly of editors of thick journals, so if the “Big Book” manages to overlook and ignore something important, then, as a rule, it is still at the level of a long list.
It is formed by the Prize's Board of Trustees - it usually includes journalists, writers and cultural figures.
Prize fund:
The winner of the “Big Book” receives 3 million rubles, the second and third place holders receive one and a half and a million, respectively.
Laureates:
One can argue about the distribution of seats, but a look at “ Big book"really reflects the literary situation of the decade. “The Laurel” by Evgeny Vodolazkin, “Telluria” by Vladimir Sorokin, “The Flood Zone” by Roman Senchin, “The Abode” by Zakhar Prilepin, “The Candle” by Valery Zalotukha - so different, these novels have really been the most discussed in recent years.
Three Important Book Laureates
Valery Zalotukha
"Candle"
M.: “Time”
Second Prize 2015
A grandiose (one and a half thousand pages!) “novel about everything,” but in fact, first of all, about how we all (using the example of an individual hero) live and burn.
Vladimir Sorokin “Telluria”
Second Prize 2014
The most significant novel by a modern classic to date, the latest and most accurate forecast of our unhappy future.
Sergey Belyakov
"Gumilyov, son of Gumilyov"
Second Prize 2013
Not the least in a series of outstanding second prizes is Sergei Belyakov’s historical novel about Lev Gumilyov, valuable not only for its attentiveness and honesty towards the hero and his ideas, but also for the author’s ability to tell this complex story to a wide range of readers without fantasy or vulgarity.
"Yasnaya Polyana"
In search of classics
The Yasnaya Polyana Prize is distinguished by an impressive prize fund and a tendency towards consistency: the same jury, using the same criteria, selects books of constant quality. The choice is sometimes too obvious, sometimes strange, but one cannot help but be glad to be able to trust it.
Procedure:
Experts (magazines, critics, publishing houses, jury members) nominate books, from which the same jury first selects a long list (June), then a short list (September), and then winners in several categories (October).
“Yasnaya Polyana” has an almost unchanged jury, consisting of honorary literary scholars and critics, its constant chairman is Vladimir Tolstoy, Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation for Culture and Art.
Prize fund:
7 million rubles. The winner of the “XXI Century” nomination has the biggest winnings: 2 million.
Laureates:
The main idea of “Yasnaya Polyana” is to reward for closeness to the classics, and the two main nominations are for those who have already become classics (the nomination is called “ Modern classic") and those who only strive for this (nomination "XXI century"). As a result, the first nomination is awarded as if for merit, and based on the totality of the latter, Andrei Bitov, Valentin Rasputin and Fazil Iskander became winners in different years. And in the second nomination, the fate of the “Big Book” is often duplicated, which is awarded later and does not look back at “Yasnaya Polyana”: “Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes” by Guzeli Yakhina in 2015, “Laurel” by Evgeny Vodolazkin in 2013.
And yet, “Yasnaya Polyana” has the remarkable ability to highlight strong and powerful literature - “The Island” by Vasily Golovanov, stories for children by Yuri Nechiporenko, stories by Mikhail Tarkovsky. Well, the long list of the “Foreign Literature” nomination over the years can even be considered a list of required reading.
Three important laureate books:
Vasily Golovanov
"Island"
M.: Ad Marginem
2009 Award
Ten years of travel to the polar island of Kolguev - a search for the meaning of life in a single space. It is significant that “The Island” won the award the second time - it was published in 2002 almost unnoticed and only in 2008 was it triumphantly republished in Ad Marginem as - deservedly - one of the main books of the decade.
Lyudmila Saraskina "Alexander Solzhenitsyn"
M.: “Young Guard”
2008 Award
Outstanding - both in terms of the amount of material and the author’s ability to maintain a poker face towards his hero in difficult moments - the biography of one of the greatest Russian writers of the last century.
Aleksey Ivanov
"The gold of rebellion"
or Down the River Gorges"
St. Petersburg: “ABC-classics”
2006 Award
It’s hard to believe, but all the big three literary awards diligently bypassed the most read and popular author of the decade: in his piggy bank only “Yasnaya Polyana” for the historical novel “The Gold of Rebellion”.
"Russian Booker"
Poor little brother
The Russian Booker Prize is the younger brother of the British Booker Prize. It was created in 1992 at the initiative of the British Council, but eventually became something completely different. Like its British older brother, the Russian Booker has a different jury every year (we were never able to see the ideal British ratio of booksellers, writers, publishers and experts in the jury; for the Booker Prize they are weighed in grams). The result is inconsistency and taste - we never know what surprises to expect from this jury, and more often than others we want to challenge its decisions. Even the long list of awards is significantly limited by the fact that it is formed almost exclusively by publishers. Paradoxically, however, it is precisely the imperfect choice of the Russian Booker that often allows it to create trends rather than follow them, but the status of one of the oldest independent awards does not allow us to give up on it completely.
Procedure:
All publishers, as well as selected libraries and universities, have the right to nominate for the Booker. From the nominated books, the jury selects a long list in July, a short list in October, and by December announces the winner - usually timed to coincide with the non/fiction fair.
Five people - as a rule, writers, critics, philologists (publishers and librarians usually fall out, since they have the right to nominate), who change every year.
Prize fund
The laureate receives 1,500,000 rubles, the finalists receive ten times less.
Laureates:
Andrey Volos (the novel “Return to Panjrud”), but not Evgeny Vodolazkin (“Laurel”), Alexander Snegirev (“Vera”), but not Roman Senchin (“Flood Zone”), Elena Kolyadina (“Flower Cross”), but not Margarita Hemlin (“Klotsvog”). The list of imperfect Booker decisions can be continued for a long time, but we are used to it, we don’t complain - and we even get some pleasure from the process.
Three important laureate books:
Andrey Volos
"Return to Panjrud"
2013 Award
The long road from Bukhara to Panjrud is a guide boy and a blind old man, but since the old man actually -the greatest poet(and a real historical figure), their journey eventually becomes something more than a simple road story. Andrey Volos reveals to us the medieval East in a fascinating, rapturous and knowledgeable way, and the prize that everyone predicted for Evgeniy Vodolazkin that year has rarely been so deserved.
Vladimir Sharov “Return to Egypt”
M.: Edited by Elena Shubina
2014 Award
A novel in the letters of the descendants of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, in which one of the heroes casually writes “Dead Souls” - the book continues in our time the thoughts and aspirations of the century before last.
Olga Slavnikova
"2017"
M.: "Vagrius"
2006 Award
A Ural dystopia that grew out of Bazhov’s fairy tales, Slavnikova was one of the first authors to figure out what the reader wants.
"National bestseller"
If there are no bestsellers, you need to invent them
The “National Bestseller” award was invented in 2001 as a truly democratic one: here Sergei Shnurov, Ksenia Sobchak or Artemy Troitsky could suddenly turn out to be the honorary chairman of the jury. Professionals and experts usually draw up a long list of nominators - and here they are especially careful to ensure that everyone participates in the process. In the end, it still turns out to be rock and roll, but since it usually begins only at the last stage, “Natsbest”, as a rule, has funny short lists and long interesting lists. The award also really dreams that its motto “Wake up famous” will be fulfilled for the laureate, but since you still can’t enter it from the street, this has not happened yet.
Procedure:
Nominators nominate books to a long list. The grand jury, each member of which has the right to choose two works from it and give them three and one points respectively, votes for the short list (this voting is open - reviews and jury scores can be read on the website). The small jury again chooses the winner by open vote. Everything happens quite quickly: in February there is a long list, in April there is a short list, and in June there is already a winner, so why wait?
Today Leila Budaeva sums up the literary results of the past year: talks about the five main book awards of our time and shares a list of winning novels and shortlisted works. You can start making your reading list for next year now!
Booker Prize
It was founded in 1969, but until 2014 only writers from Great Britain, Ireland and the British Commonwealth could apply for it. Now a novel from any country can be nominated for a prize, as long as it is written in English.
This year's winner was “Lincoln in the Bardo” by American George Saunders. The book takes place over the course of one evening and touches on a real event - the death of 11-year-old William, the son of US President Abraham Lincoln in February 1862. The boy finds himself in the bardo - a kind of intermediate state described in Buddhism as the interval between death and the separation of mind and body. According to Saunders, the inhabitants of the bardo are "disfigured by desires that they did not fulfill while they were alive." Wanting to get out of this trap, William tries to communicate with his father.
“4 3 2 1”, Paul Auster (USA)- the novel takes place in the second half of the twentieth century and tells the story of four versions of the life of a boy named Archibald Ferguson, developing parallel to each other. Each of them speaks in its own way about his studies, growing up and relationships.
"The Story of Wolves", Emily Fridlund (USA) is the debut novel by a famous novelist, telling the story of a fourteen-year-old girl Madeline. She lives with her parents in the wilderness of northern Minnesota, acutely feeling loneliness and isolation from the world.
"Exit to the West", Mohsin Hamid (Pakistan)- the novel touches on the themes of emigration and refugee problems. The plot is based on the story of a young couple, Said and Nadya, who find themselves in the center civil war in an unnamed country.
"Elmet", Fiona Moseley (UK)- another debut novel on the award shortlist. Brother and sister Daniel and Katie live with their father in the village of Elmet: they walk along the moors, raise cattle, and sincerely care about each other. The idyll continues until the family begins to be threatened...
"Autumn", Ali Smith (UK)- 101-year-old Daniel ends his days in a nursing home, where 30-year-old Elizabeth regularly visits him. Between them, despite the colossal age difference, a truly warm relationship developed. The novel takes place in the fall of 2016, after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, and, as the Man Booker Prize jury put it, is “a meditation on a changing world.”
Prix Goncourt
The French award for achievements in the novel genre has been awarded annually since 1903. According to the charter, its laureate can only be won once. The only exception is the writer Romain Gary. He received the prize for the first time in 1956, and 19 years later he received it again under the name Emile Azhar.
This year's winning novel was The Order of the Day by Eric Vuillard. The plot is based on real events and takes place in Nazi Germany. The book tells the story of the formation of the Nazi regime in alliance with prominent German industrialists.
The award shortlist also included:
"Bakhita", Véronique Olmi- the main rival of the winning novel, the plot of which is also based on real events. This is the story of a girl born in western Sudan in mid-19th century century. Kidnapped by slave traders at the age of seven, she passes from one owner to another until she is redeemed by the Italian consul. In Italy she is placed in a convent, after which she expresses a desire to be baptized...
"Hold Your Crown Tight" by Yannick Haenel- a certain writer created a useless script for a film about Herman Melville (author of the famous “Moby Dick”). In New York, he meets a famous director who is interested in his manuscript, after which a time of adventure begins in the hero’s life.
"The Art of Losing" by Alice Zenite- a novel about a girl from a Kabyle family who came to France from the north of Algeria. The book tells the story of the fate of several generations of refugees left in captivity of the past, as well as the right to be yourself - without taking into account anyone else's ideas about who you should become.
Pulitzer Prize
Established in the USA in 1903 and awarded for achievements in the fields of literature, journalism, music and theater. An interesting fact is that many award-winning books have never made the bestseller lists (exceptions include John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch, which I discuss in a post on American literature), and most award-winning plays have never was not staged on Broadway theatres.
Prize winner for fiction novel became The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. The book takes place on the eve of the Civil War. Dark-skinned slave Cora decides to escape and ends up on a secret route system - underground railway, with the help of which slaves were moved from the southern (slave-owning) states to the north. Whitehead emotionally recounts important milestones in the history of American slavery and subsequent segregation - the forced separation of the population along racial lines.
The nominees also included:
"Imagine Me Gone" by Adam Haslett- a story about how difficult relationships within a family develop after a depressed father of three children commits suicide.
"The Sport of Kings", C.E. Morgan- The plot takes place in the American South. Ambitious Henry, a representative of one of the oldest families in Kentucky, decides to turn his family lands into a stud farm for breeding thoroughbred horses - future race winners.
Russian booker
The prize was established in 1992 on the initiative of the British Council in Russia as a project similar to the British Booker Prize. Awarded for the best novel published during the year.
The 2017 novel winner was Alexandra Nikolaenko’s book “Kill Bobrykin: the story of a murder.” 200 pages of text tell what is going on in the soul of the impressionable Sasha: day after day he is nostalgic for the times when he was in love with his classmate Tanya. Now she is married to Sasha’s neighbor, Bobrykin. To the hero he seems to be a personal demon, some kind of evil that has been haunting him since childhood - for this reason he is going to kill him.
The award shortlist also included:
“The Secret Year”, Mikhail Gigolashvili- the novel describes two weeks in the life of Ivan the Terrible during that strange period of Russian history when he left the throne to Simeon Bekbulatovich and secluded himself in the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda for a year. Book with elements of phantasmagoria draws psychological picture the king, his vulnerable, painful subconscious.
“Golomyanoe Flame”, Dmitry Novikov- a story declaring love to the harsh Russian North. The writer builds a bridge from the present day to the distant past, sincerely admires the beauty and richness of nature and talks about the spiritual component of modern life.
"Zahhok", Vladimir Medvedev- the book tells the story of a Russian teacher, Vera, who was unwillingly left with her children in Tajikistan during the civil war in the early 1990s. A polyphonic novel, written from the perspective of several characters, allows you to view events from several angles.
“Date with Quasimodo”, Alexander Melikhov- Dozens of murderers pass through the office of criminal psychologist Yulia, whose fate depends on her decision to consider them sane or not. What makes them break the law? The subject of reflection in this philosophical novel is the phenomenon of beauty.
“Nomakh. Sparks from a big fire”, Igor Malyshev- another novel on the theme of the civil war. Nomakh ( main character) exactly follows the path of Nestor Makhno, an anarcho-communist and leader of the insurgent movement in southern Ukraine in 1918-1922.
Nobel Prize
Unlike other prizes, the Nobel Prize does not have an official list of finalists. We will learn about those who competed for the main literary prize of the world this year only half a century later, when the archives are published. The award was given to the British writer of Japanese origin Kazuo Ishiguro, who “in his novels of incredible emotional power reveals the abyss hidden behind our illusory sense of connection with the world” - this was the formulation voiced by the Nobel Committee.
The beauty is that most of Ishiguro’s prose has been translated into Russian, and the cult “The Remains of the Day” and “Never Let Me Go” have been filmed. “At the End of the Day” (under this title the film was released in Russia) was nominated for eight Oscars, starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. The less successful film Never Let Me Go starred Charlotte Rampling, Keira Knightley and young Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield.
