Finding Literary Award Winners

General Sources

Index to American Short Story Award Collections, 1970-1990. Ed. Thomas E. Kennedy. New York: G.K. Hall & Co., 1993.
Call Number: 016.813 K387i
Location: English Reference [Non-Circulation]

Spanning twenty years (1970-1990), this index lists short story award winners of the Pushcart Prize, American Fiction Series, AWP Short Fiction Award, Drue Heinz Literature Prize, Flannery O'Connor Award, University of Illinois Short Fiction Series and the Iowa School of Letters Award.

Literary and Library Prizes. Eds. Olga S. Weber and Stephen J. Calvert. 10th ed. New York: R.R. Bowker Company, 1980.
Call Number: 028.1 L712 1980 c.6
Location: English Reference [Non-Circulation]

This resource may be over 20 years old, but it is also very comprehensive in its coverage of literary awards. While it lists mostly American Awards and their winners it also includes sections on international, British and Canadian prizes. Each of these sections are further broken down into general awards, juvenile, poetry, drama, short story and library prizes. Small descriptions of each award and their history are also given.

Prizewinning Literature: UK Literary award winners. Ed. Anne Strachan. London: Library Association Publishing Ltd., 1989.
Call Number: 820.9 St81p
Location: English Reference [Non-Circulation]

Lists UK literary awards which predominantly honor fiction.

Award Sites

Booker Prize for Fiction
Years Covered: 1969 to present

In addition to listing prize winners (past and present), this site has press releases, author biographies and photos of the latest year's winners.

Literary Awards Winners
Years Covered: 1911 to present
Award Categories: All major prizes in virtually all categories

National Book Awards
Years Covered: 1950 to present
Award Categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Young People's Literature

Contains acceptance speeches, selected author study guides (connect to from the "Publications" page), which include essays about and interviews with past National Book winners and finalists.

National Book Critics Circle
Years Covered: 1981 to present
Award Categories: Fiction, General Nonfiction, Biography and Autobiography, Poetry and Criticism

Lists past winners and contains synopses of the works of all the winners for the current year.

Nobel Prize in Literature
Years Covered: 1901 to present

This site not only lists winners but it also contains biographies, selected bibliographies, photos, Nobel lectures, interviews and articles written by and about Nobel Prize Laureates.

Orange Prize for Fiction
Years Covered: 1996 to present

This relatively recent literary award honors female writers of fiction. The site includes biographies, reviews and interviews with the winners for the past two years.

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
Years Covered: 1981 to present

Provides a list of winners and nominees.

Pulitzer Prize
Years Covered: 1917 to present
Award Categories: Biography or Autobiography, Drama, Fiction, History, NonFiction, and Poetry

This sophisticated site offers a searchable database of past winners and nominated finalists. Biographies and photographs of winners from 1995 to present are included on the website. There is also an extensive section on the history of the award.

Whitbread Prize
Years Covered: 1971 to present
Award Categories: Book of the Year, Children's Book of the Year, Novel, First Novel, Biography and Poetry

The website for this UK award features an archive of past winners and the "A Year in Books" section provides additional links to important festivals, awards and other important literary events taking place during the year.

Applying for a Literary Award

Complete Guide to Literary Contests 2001. New York: Prometheus Books, 2000.
Call Number: 807.9 F113c 2001
Location: English Reference [Non-Circulation]

Featuring mainly well-known American and Canadian awards, this guide includes contact information and guidelines for fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama awards. The appendices also contain information about how writers can copyright their work and what they need to know before signing with a literary agent.

Grants and Awards Available to American Writers. New York: PEN American Center. V. 21 (2000/2001)
Call Number: 007.9 G76 2000/01 c.3
Location: English Reference [Non-Circulation]

This guide provides information on how to apply for over 1,000 major and lesser-known American awards, grants, fellowships and other prizes in the following disciplines: fiction, poetry, drama, journalism, general nonfiction, children's literature, translation and screenwriting. Complete contact information for the institutions who administer the prizes are provided in the guide. This includes websites which occasionally list past winners.