A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author .
15-649: The RBC Taylor Prize (2000–2020), formerly known as the Charles Taylor Prize , was a Canadian literary award , presented by the Charles Taylor Foundation to the best Canadian work of literary non-fiction . It was named for Charles P. B. Taylor , a noted Canadian historian and writer. Instituted in 2000, the 2020 prize was the final year the prize was awarded. The prize was originally presented every two years until 2004, and became an annual award from 2004 onwards. The monetary value of
30-525: Is a tongue-in-cheek contest, held annually and sponsored by the English Department of San José State University in San Jose, California . Entrants are invited "to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels" – that is, one which is deliberately bad. According to the official rules, the prize for winning the contest is "a pittance". The 2008 winner received $ 250, while
45-516: The 1830 novel Paul Clifford , reads in full: It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness. The first year of the competition attracted just three entries, but it went public
60-1019: The Miguel de Cervantes Prize ( Spanish ); the Camões Prize ( Portuguese ); the Booker Prize , The Writers' Prize , the Pulitzer Prize and the Hugo Award ( English ). Other international literary prizes include the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Franz Kafka Prize , and the Jerusalem Prize . The International Dublin Literary Award is given to writers, as well as to the translator(s) if
75-442: The 2014 winners' page said the grand prize winner received "about $ 150". The current prize, as of 2023, is "a cheap certificate and bragging rights". The contest was started in 1982 by Professor Scott E. Rice of the English Department at San Jose State University and is named for English novelist and playwright Edward George Bulwer-Lytton , author of the much-quoted first line " It was a dark and stormy night ". This opening, from
90-596: The 2020 award would be the final presentation of the award. The RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award was instituted for the first time in 2014. The award was presented to an emerging writer selected by the winner of that year's primary award, and consisted of $ 10,000 and a mentorship from the writer who made the selection. In 2018, the RBC Taylor Foundation also announced the creation of a mentorship program for writers who had not yet published their first non-fiction manuscript. Five writers would be selected for
105-467: The award increased over the years. The final award in 2020 had a monetary value of $ 30,000. The award adopted its present name in December 2013, when RBC Wealth Management was announced as the new corporate sponsor. In addition, under RBC's sponsorship the award added a second $ 10,000 award for an emerging Canadian literary non-fiction writer between the ages of 18 and 35, to be chosen by the winner of
120-481: The best winner. Sometimes juries can not decide between two contentious books so they will compromise with a third inoffensive bland book. He says there are now so many awards and prizes it has diluted the prestige of being a prize-winning book. Flanagan clarifies he is not against literary awards, but believes they should not be taken too seriously as a form of support for literary culture. Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest ( BLFC )
135-758: The book chosen was written in a language other than English. Spoof awards include: The Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction Award , the Bookseller /Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year , and the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction and Lyttle Lytton Contests , given to deliberately bad grammar There are also literary awards targeted specifically to encourage the writing from African American origin and authors of African descent. Two of these awards are Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence , which
150-500: The cost of the ceremony and public relations, typically a corporate sponsor who may sometimes attach their name to the award (such as the Orange Prize ). There are awards for various writing formats including poetry and novels . Many awards are also dedicated to a certain genre of fiction or non-fiction writing (such as science fiction or politics ). There are also awards dedicated to works in individual languages, such as
165-507: The main award. This award was presented for the first time at the 2014 ceremony. In 2018 the new RBC Taylor Prize Emerging Writers Mentorship Program was unveiled. This was a professional development program designed to support the next generation of Canadian writers and was part of the RBC Taylor Prize Emerging Writers Award, a distinction that was given annually to a Canadian author whose work embodies
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#1732802108258180-420: The mentorship each year, each receiving mentorship from one of the shortlisted main prize authors. Literary award Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony . Many awards are structured with one organization (usually a non-profit organization) as the presenter and public face of the award, and another organization as the financial sponsor or backer, who pays the prize remuneration and
195-469: The next year, received media attention, and attracted 10,000 entries. There are now several subcategories, such as detective fiction , romance novels , Western novels , and purple prose . Sentences that are notable but not quite bad enough to merit the Grand Prize or a category prize are awarded Dishonorable Mentions. The winning entries are available at the contest website. Six books collecting
210-413: The pursuit of excellence in literary non-fiction. The mentorship program was made available to five Canadian non-fiction writers, who were selected in partnership with a national network of university and college writing programs. These students were paired with the 2018 RBC Taylor Prize shortlisted authors, who would help support their career development and growth. In 2020, the organizers announced that
225-767: Was established in 2007 by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation , and Hurston/Wright Legacy Award , which is a given by the National Community of Black Writers. Australian author Richard Flanagan wrote a critique of literary awards, saying "National prizes are often a barometer of bourgeois bad taste." He says juries can be influenced by vendettas, paybacks and payoffs, "most judges are fair-minded people. But hate, conceit and jealousy are no less human attributes than wisdom, judgment and knowledge." Book prizes will sometimes compete with one another, and these goals do not always coincide with anointing
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