Literary Awards & Lists
Lists of Bests
100 Greatest Adventure Books – National Geographic
1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
All-TIME 100 Novels (1932–Present) – Time Magazine
Best Novels You’ve Never Read – New 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
PEN/Faulkner Awards – National fiction award (U.S.)
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