BC book awards
Established in 1985, this prize is administered and awarded by the West Coast Book Prize Society, a non-profit society representing all facets of the publishing and writing community in British Columbia. Awarded in April/May. This fiction prize is supported by B.C. Library Services.
Canadian book awards
The Amazon.ca First Novel Award recognizes the outstanding achievement of a Canadian first-time novelist. Since 1976, the award has launched the careers of some of Canada's most beloved novelists, including Michael Ondaatje, Joan Barfoot, Joy Kogawa, W.P. Kinsella, Nino Ricci, Rohinton Mistry, Anne Michaels, Andre Alexis, Michael Redhill, Mary Lawson, Colin McAdam, and Joseph Boyden.
Each year, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Governor General of Canada collaborate to honour the finest in Canadian literature.
Established in 1997, the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize recognizes Canadian writers of exceptional talent for the year's best novel or short-story collection.
The Giller Prize was founded in 1994 by Jack Rabinovitch in honour of his late wife, literary journalist Doris Giller, who passed away from cancer the year before. The award recognized excellence in Canadian fiction - long format or short stories - and endowed a cash prize annually of $25,000.00, the largest purse for literature in the country.
Established in 1947 to be awarded annually for the best book of humour written in the previous year by a Canadian. The award has attained an international reputation and is the only award of its kind for Canadian humour.
Established in 1987 this prestigious award is Ontario's leading award for literature. The quality of Ontario authors and writing speaks for itself with the international acclaim achieved by past Trillium winners including Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, Timothy Findley and Anne Michaels.
Established in 2008, the Writers' Trust Notable Author Award was created by merging two previously existing prizes: the Marian Engel Award for a female writer in mid-career (1986 – 2007) and the Timothy Findley Award for a male writer in mid-career (2002 – 2007). Writers are judged on their body of work “ judged to be no less than three works of literary merit which are predominantly fiction“ rather than a single book.
Established in 2001 by the Writers' Trust of Canada and a group of anonymous donors, the Matt Cohen Award recognizes a lifetime of distinguished work by a Canadian writer, working in either poetry or prose in either French or English.
American book awards
The Lambda Literary Awards (Lammys) identify and celebrate the best lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender books of the year and affirm that LGBTQ stories are part of the literature of the world. The Awards ceremony has consistently drawn an audience representing every facet of publishing.
Since its inception in 1950, the National Book Awards continues to recognize the best of American literature, raising the cultural appreciation of great writing in the country while advancing the careers of both established and emerging writers like Richard Powers, Jonathan Franzen, and Lily Tuck.
The National Book Critics Circle, founded in 1974, is a non-profit organization consisting of more than 900 active book reviewers who are interested in honoring quality writing in the United States.
Founded by writers in 1980, and named for William Faulkner, who used his Nobel Prize funds to create an award for young writers, and PEN, the international writers' organization, the PEN/Faulkner Foundation brings together American writers and readers in a wide variety of programs to promote a love of literature.
The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded since 1948 for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life.
British book awards
The Costa Book Awards (formerly Whitbread) is one of the most prestigious and popular literary prizes in the UK and recognises some of the most enjoyable books of the year by writers based in the UK and Ireland.
The Desmond Elliott Prize is an annual award for a first novel written in English and published in the UK. Worth £10,000 to the winner, the prize is named after the literary agent and publisher, Desmond Elliott.
International book awards
The Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (formerly Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction) is the UK's only annual book award for fiction written by a woman. Now in its thirteenth year, the £30,000 Prize celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women's writing.
Betty Trask left a bequest to the Society of Authors in 1983 to fund a prize for first novels written by authors under the age of 35 in a romantic or traditional, but not experimental, style. The prize money totalling £25,000 must be used for foreign travel.
The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is the largest prize worldwide for a single work of fiction published in English. Nominations are submitted by public libraries worldwide. The annual award is £100,000. The prize is open to novels written in any language and by authors of any nationality, provided the work has been published in English or English translation.
First awarded in 1969, the Man Booker Prize (originally Booker Prize) goes to the best full length novel written in English by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland. American fiction is excluded. Sponsored by the Man Group, an international investment and futures broker business, and administered by the Booker Prize Foundation, a registered charity. Announced in October.
Awarded annually by the International Nobel Committee for a body of work by an author. Announced in October/November.
Science fiction, fantasy and horror book awards
The Arthur C. Clarke Award, the most prestigious award for science fiction in Britain, is given to the best science fiction novel published in Britain in the previous year. Begun in 1987, it is judged by a panel and administered by the Science Fiction Foundation and the British Science Fiction Association. Awarded in May.
Presented by the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association since 1980 for the best in Canadian science fiction or fantasy published in the previous year. Announced in October.
The Bram Stoker Awards (named in honour of the author of Dracula) are voted on annually by members of the Horror Writers Association. Begun in 1987, it is awarded in June for books published in the previous year.
The Hugo Awards are science fiction's most prestigious awards. Voted on by the members of the World Science Fiction Society, the awards have been presented annually since 1955 at the society's World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon).
The Nebula Awards are administered, voted and presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America since 1965 to acknowledge excellence in science fiction writing. Awarded in May for the previous year.
Awarded by the World Fantasy Convention since 1975. All types of fantasy are eligible, from supernatural horror to Tolkienesque, to sword & sorcery, to the occult, magic realism and beyond. Awarded in late October/early November for books published in the previous calendar year.
Mystery award winners
Voted on and awarded since 1988 by the Malice Domestic fan convention for "traditional mysteries" originally published in the United States by a living author; named for Agatha Christie, exemplary writer of classic "cozies." Announced in April/May for books published in the previous calendar year.
Chosen and awarded by the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The award is named for Anthony Boucher, well known writer, critic and fan of the mystery novel. Announced in October.
Presented by the Crime Writers of Canada. The award is named for the nom de travail of Canada's official hangman. Presented in May for books published in the previous year.
Awarded by the Mystery Writers of America since 1953, and named in honour of author Edgar Allan Poe. Presented in April.
Awarded since 1991 by the North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers for literary excellence in the field of crime writing (fiction or narrative non-fiction) by an American or Canadian author.
The Macavity Awards, begun in 1987, are named for the "mystery cat" of T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. Members of the Mystery Readers International nominate and vote for their favourite mysteries. Announced in September for books published in the previous year.
Awarded by Friends of Mystery members for the best mystery written by a writer of the Pacific Northwest (Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington).
The CWA Dagger Awards are the longest established literary awards in the UK for mysteries and are internationally recognised as a mark of excellence and achievement.