How do people get literary awards? There are a lot of award myths: the awarders find you; to nominate a book you just send it in; you can’t nominate yourself; your press will know what awards you’re eligible for and go ahead and nominate you. I created this list for myself and thought I’d share it. Note it obviously isn’t every award that’s out there. If you know of any I’ve missed, drop me a line.
Most awards have a formal submission process and those are the only books judges consider. They also mostly have entry fees. And some surprisingly let you nominate yourself (I know authors who nominate themselves each year so they can say they are a “Pulitzer-nominated” author. I do not judge). Some awards consider self-published books; some do not. Many presses who do not nominate don’t because editors are too busy to track awards or fees are too steep.
The time to talk awards with a press that takes your book is on acceptance or during production. This is also true if you choose self-directed publishing. Editors might want you to track deadlines for them and issue reminders. If funds are an issue you might want to look into ways you can sponsor those fees. I’ve found small grants to cover these in the past.
Lambda Literary Awards (Lammys): These awards recognize the best writing in the areas of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer lives. There are many categories, including fiction, memoir, poetry, science fiction, and more. Self-published books are considered. Ebook-only books are not. See website for deadlines and details:
National Book Award: This and the Pulitzer are the most well-known awards here. Categories are fiction, poetry, nonfiction, translated literature and young people’s literature. The award opens March 17 and closes May 20 (so SOON!). The fee is $135 and presses must nominate. Their self-published book rules are a bit complex. Check the site.
National Book Critics Circle Award: There are six categories, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, criticism, autobiography, and biography. Each category has a committee that judges that genre. Committee members can nominate books, but books sent in by the press will also be considered. It’s free except for multiple copies of the book. The press needs to do a free registration.
PEN America is an awards and advocacy organization that sponsors many awards in all genres and many different areas. They give out awards for literary translation, science writing, books of individual essays, debut short story, and too many other categories to list. These awards come with much prestige and cash prizes ranging from $1,000 to $75,000. Books must be submitted by publishers. There is a fee, but most fees will be waived if the press’s annual budget is less than $2,000, 000, a point you might want to let your press know.
Most PEN awards open June 15 annually but check the site. No self-published authors. An important thing to note is that you can submit the same book in more than one category—that debut novel might also fit socially engaged fiction, for example. Research on fit for your book should come from you. The best way to learn which PEN awards might be right for you is to go to their website.
Pulitzer Prize: The Pulitzer is awarded in many categories, including a large number in journalism. If you’re reading this, you probably fit into one of their categories. Anyone can nominate a book and it can be self-published. You must be a U.S. citizen and the book must have been published and available for purchase in the award year. The fee is $75. Last year’s deadline was June 19.