Literary Awards & Lists

Literary Awards & Lists

Lists of Bests

100 Greatest Adventure BooksNational Geographic

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

All-TIME 100 Novels (1932–Present) Time Magazine

Best Novels You’ve Never ReadNew York Times

Modern Library 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century

Modern Library 100 Best (Nonfiction)

NPR’s Top 100 SF/Fantasy Novels

Radcliffe Publishing Course 100 Best Books


Awards & Prizes

General & Literary Awards

Audie Awards – Best audio books

The BAILEYS Women’s Prize for Fiction

Costa Book Awards – Literature of the UK and Ireland

IMPAC Award – International literary award

Man Booker Prize – Author is a citizen of UK Commonwealth, Republic of Ireland, or Zimbabwe

National Book Awards

Nobel Prize in Literature

PEN/Faulkner Awards – National fiction award (U.S.)

Pulitzer Prize

Scotiabank Giller Prize – Literature of Canada

Genre Book Awards

Agatha Awards – Mystery

Bram Stoker Awards – Horror

Christy Awards – Inspirational

Edgar Awards – Mystery

James Beard Award – Cookbooks

Hugo Awards – Science Fiction

Nebula Awards – Science Fiction & Fantasy

RITA Awards – Romance

Spur Awards – Westerns

Children & Teen Book Awards

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults

YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens

Alex Awards – Best adult books for teen readers

Caldecott Medal – Picture books

Coretta Scott King Award – Presented annually to African American writers and illustrators for “outstanding inspirational and educational contributions”

DAWCL – “Database of Award-Winning Children’s Literature”; a librarian-compiled, searchable database with search terms including gender and ethnicity/nationality of protagonist, suggested age range of reader, setting, historical period, publication year, and more

Golden Kite Awards – The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrator’s award for excellence in the field of children’s books

Kentucky Book Award (Kentucky Bluegrass Award) – Annual best books list from 1983 to the present, as selected by Kentucky students. Master lists are organized by year and grade level (K–2, 3–5, 6–8, K–2)

National Book Awards – See Children’s Books categories and Young People’s Literature

Newbery Medal – Youth literature

Printz Awards – For literary excellence in YA literature

Robert F. Sibert Medal – Informational books for children

Sid Fleischman Award – Best humor writing for children

Geisel Medal – Beginning reader books

William C. Morris YA Debut Award