Russian writers are Nobel Prize laureates in literature. Are literary prizes necessary?

In a sense, the most prestigious literary prize. And it’s not about the prize fund at all: everything is simple here - 1 ruble, a bottle of vodka and an apple. The Andrei Bely Prize has existed since 1978 and is the oldest non-state prize in Russia, which has long had its own special, most “intelligentsia” status.

The Russian Booker Prize, awarded annually for the best novel in the Russian language, was created in 1991 by the Englishman Sir Michael Caine, who headed the Booker Group plc - the same company that founded the Booker Prize, the main literary prize in Great Britain, back in 1969.

The Booker company had nothing to do with literature for a long time. It was founded in Liverpool in 1835 by the Booker brothers, who traded in colonial goods. Already in the 20th century, the company entered the book business, in particular, acquiring copyrights to the works of Ian Fleming, Agatha Christie and Harold Pinter.

In terms of the size of the prize fund, the Big Book is the largest prize in Russia and the second in the world after Nobel Prize. The winner receives 3 million rubles, silver and bronze medalists - 1.5 and 1 million, respectively. The prize was created in 2005 by the Center for Support of Russian Literature and since then has been awarded annually for works of all prose genres. Among the winners were fiction novels, for example, “Venus' Hair” by Mikhail Shishkin, and non-fiction - “Boris Pasternak” by Dmitry Bykov.

The relatively young “Debut” prize was established in 2000 by Andrei Skoch’s “Generation” humanitarian foundation and is awarded to authors under 35 years of age in various categories: long and short prose, drama, poetry and essays. By the way, the age threshold used to be 25 years old and only this year it was significantly increased.

The NOS Prize was founded by the Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation quite recently - in 2009 - and dedicated to the bicentenary of N.V. Gogol. Texts from a wide variety of artistic genres can apply for the prize: “from traditional novels to radical experimental prose.” The winners of the prize for two years of its existence were Lena Eltang with the novel “Stone Maples” and Vladimir Sorokin with the story “Blizzard”.

The most significant poetry prize was created by the “Society for the Encouragement of Russian Poetry” on the initiative of Anatoly Chubais in 2005 “as a reward for highest achievements in modern Russian poetry" and is a kind of summing up of poetic results, since it rewards long-established and recognized poets.

“National Bestseller”, or simply “Natsbest”, is a literary award that even has a motto: “Wake up famous!” The prize was founded in 2001 by literary critic Viktor Toporov and is awarded in St. Petersburg for the best novel written in Russian. One of the features of this award is

in openness and transparency: you can always find out who nominated whom and who voted for whom.

Dedicated to the great Russian writers.

From October 21 to November 21, 2015, the Library and Information Complex invites you to an exhibition dedicated to the works of Nobel laureates in literature from Russia and the USSR.

A Belarusian writer received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2015. The award was awarded to Svetlana Alexievich with the following wording: “For her polyphonic creativity - a monument to suffering and courage in our time.” At the exhibition we also presented works by Svetlana Alexandrovna.

The exhibition can be viewed at the address: Leningradsky Prospekt, 49, 1st floor, room. 100.

The prizes, established by the Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, are considered the most honorable in the world. They are awarded annually (since 1901) for outstanding work in the field of medicine or physiology, physics, chemistry, for literary works, for contributions to strengthening peace, economics (since 1969).

The Nobel Prize in Literature is an award for achievements in the field of literature, awarded annually by the Nobel Committee in Stockholm on December 10. According to the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, the following persons can nominate candidates: members of the Swedish Academy, other academies, institutes and societies with similar tasks and goals; university professors of literary history and linguistics; Nobel Prize laureates in literature; chairmen of authors' unions representing literary creativity in the respective countries.

Unlike laureates of other prizes (for example, physics and chemistry), the decision to award the Nobel Prize in Literature is made by members of the Swedish Academy. The Swedish Academy unites 18 Swedish figures. The Academy includes historians, linguists, writers and one lawyer. They are known in society as "Eighteen". Membership in the academy is for life. After the death of one of the members, the academicians elect a new academician by secret vote. The Academy selects a Nobel Committee from among its members. It is he who deals with the issue of awarding the prize.

Nobel laureates in literature from Russia and the USSR :

• I. A. Bunin(1933 "For the strict skill with which he develops the traditions of Russian classical prose")
• B.L. Parsnip(1958 "For significant achievements in modern lyric poetry, as well as for continuing the traditions of the great Russian epic novel")
• M. A. Sholokhov(1965 "For artistic power and the honesty with which he depicted the historical era in the life of the Russian people in his Don epic")
• A. I. Solzhenitsyn(1970 "For moral strength, with which he followed the immutable traditions of Russian literature")
• I. A. Brodsky(1987 "For comprehensive creativity, imbued with clarity of thought and passion of poetry")

Russian literature laureates are people with different, sometimes opposing, views. I. A. Bunin and A. I. Solzhenitsyn are staunch opponents of Soviet power, and M. A. Sholokhov, on the contrary, is a communist. However, the main thing they have in common is their undoubted talent, for which they were awarded Nobel Prizes.

Ivan Alekseevich Bunin - famous Russian writer and poet, outstanding master realistic prose, honorary member St. Petersburg Academy Sci. In 1920, Bunin emigrated to France.

The most difficult thing for a writer in exile is to remain himself. It happens that, having left his homeland due to the need to make dubious compromises, he is again forced to kill his spirit in order to survive. Fortunately, Bunin escaped this fate. Despite any trials, Bunin always remained true to himself.

In 1922, Ivan Alekseevich’s wife, Vera Nikolaevna Muromtseva, wrote in her diary that Romain Rolland nominated Bunin for the Nobel Prize. From then on, Ivan Alekseevich lived with hopes that someday he would be awarded this prize. 1933 All newspapers in Paris came out on November 10 with large headlines: “Bunin - Nobel laureate.” Every Russian in Paris, even the loader at the Renault plant, who had never read Bunin, took this as a personal holiday. Because my compatriot turned out to be the best, the most talented! In the Parisian taverns and restaurants that evening there were Russians, who sometimes drank for “one of their own” with their last pennies.

On the day the prize was awarded, November 9, Ivan Alekseevich Bunin watched the “cheerful stupidity” “Baby” in the cinema. Suddenly the darkness of the hall was cut through by a narrow beam of a flashlight. They were looking for Bunin. He was called by telephone from Stockholm.

“And immediately my whole old life ends. I go home quite quickly, but without feeling anything other than regret that I was not able to watch the film. But no. I can’t help but believe: the whole house is glowing with lights. And my heart squeezes with some kind of sadness ... Some kind of turning point in my life,” recalled I. A. Bunin.

Exciting days in Sweden. IN concert hall in the presence of the king, after the report of the writer, member of the Swedish Academy Peter Hallström on the work of Bunin, he was presented with a folder with a Nobel diploma, a medal and a check for 715 thousand French francs.

When presenting the award, Bunin noted that the Swedish Academy acted very bravely by awarding the emigrant writer. Among the contenders for this year’s prize was another Russian writer, M. Gorky, however, largely thanks to the publication of the book “The Life of Arsenyev” by that time, the scales nevertheless tipped in the direction of Ivan Alekseevich.

Returning to France, Bunin feels rich and, sparing no expense, distributes “benefits” to emigrants and donates funds to support various societies. Finally, on the advice of well-wishers, he invests the remaining amount in a “win-win business” and is left with nothing.

Bunin’s friend, poet and prose writer Zinaida Shakhovskaya, in her memoir book “Reflection,” noted: “With skill and a small amount of practicality, the prize should have been enough to last. But the Bunins did not buy either an apartment or a villa...”

Unlike M. Gorky, A. I. Kuprin, A. N. Tolstoy, Ivan Alekseevich did not return to Russia, despite the admonitions of the Moscow “messengers”. I never came to my homeland, not even as a tourist.

Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890-1960) was born in Moscow in the family of the famous artist Leonid Osipovich Pasternak. Mother, Rosalia Isidorovna, was a talented pianist. Maybe that’s why, as a child, the future poet dreamed of becoming a composer and even studied music with Alexander Nikolaevich Scriabin. However, the love of poetry won out. B. L. Pasternak's fame was brought by his poetry, and his bitter trials by "Doctor Zhivago", a novel about the fate of the Russian intelligentsia.

The editors of the literary magazine, to which Pasternak offered the manuscript, considered the work anti-Soviet and refused to publish it. Then the writer transferred the novel abroad, to Italy, where it was published in 1957. The very fact of publication in the West was sharply condemned by Soviet creative colleagues, and Pasternak was expelled from the Writers' Union. However, it was Doctor Zhivago that made Boris Pasternak a Nobel laureate. The writer was nominated for the Nobel Prize starting in 1946, but was awarded it only in 1958, after the release of the novel. The conclusion of the Nobel Committee says: "... for significant achievements both in modern lyric poetry and in the field of the great Russian epic tradition."

At home, the award of such an honorary prize to an “anti-Soviet novel” aroused the indignation of the authorities, and under the threat of deportation from the country, the writer was forced to refuse the award. Only 30 years later, his son, Evgeniy Borisovich Pasternak, received a diploma and a Nobel laureate medal for his father.

The fate of another Nobel laureate, Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn, is no less dramatic. He was born in 1918 in Kislovodsk, and his childhood and youth were spent in Novocherkassk and Rostov-on-Don. After graduating from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Rostov University, A. I. Solzhenitsyn taught and at the same time studied in absentia at literary institute in Moscow. When did the Great Patriotic War, the future writer went to the front.

Shortly before the end of the war, Solzhenitsyn was arrested. The reason for the arrest was critical remarks against Stalin, found by military censorship in Solzhenitsyn's letters. He was released after Stalin's death (1953). In 1962, the magazine "New World" published the first story - "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich", telling about the life of prisoners in the camp. Literary magazines refused to publish most of the subsequent works. There was only one explanation: anti-Soviet orientation. However, the writer did not give up and sent the manuscripts abroad, where they were published. Alexander Isaevich did not limit himself literary activity- he fought for the freedom of political prisoners in the USSR, and sharply criticized the Soviet system.

The literary works and political position of A. I. Solzhenitsyn were well known abroad, and in 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Prize. The writer did not go to Stockholm for the award ceremony: he was not allowed to leave the country. Representatives of the Nobel Committee, who wanted to present the prize to the laureate at home, were not allowed into the USSR.

In 1974, A.I. Solzhenitsyn was expelled from the country. First he lived in Switzerland, then moved to the USA, where, with a significant delay, he was awarded the Nobel Prize. Such works as “In the First Circle”, “The Gulag Archipelago”, “August 1914”, “Cancer Ward” were published in the West. In 1994, A. Solzhenitsyn returned to his homeland, traveling across all of Russia, from Vladivostok to Moscow.

The fate of Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov, the only Russian Nobel Prize laureate in literature, who was supported, turned out differently government bodies. M. A. Sholokhov (1905-1980) was born in the south of Russia, on the Don - in the center of the Russian Cossacks. He later described his small homeland - the village of Kruzhilin in the village of Veshenskaya - in many works. Sholokhov graduated from only four classes of the gymnasium. He actively participated in the events of the civil war, led a food detachment that took away the so-called surplus grain from rich Cossacks.

Already in his youth, the future writer felt an inclination to literary creativity. In 1922, Sholokhov came to Moscow, and in 1923 he began publishing his first stories in newspapers and magazines. In 1926, the collections “Don Stories” and “Azure Steppe” were published. Work on “The Quiet Don” - a novel about the life of the Don Cossacks during the Great Turning Point (the First World War, revolutions and civil war) - began in 1925. The first part of the novel was published in 1928, and Sholokhov completed it in the 30s . " Quiet Don"became the pinnacle of the writer's creativity, and in 1965 he was awarded the Nobel Prize "for the artistic strength and completeness with which he depicted the historical phase in the life of the Russian people in his epic work about the Don." "Quiet Don" has been translated into 45 countries around the world. several dozen languages.

By the time he received the Nobel Prize, Joseph Brodsky’s bibliography included six collections of poems, the poem “Gorbunov and Gorchakov”, the play “Marble”, and many essays (written mainly in English). However, in the USSR, from where the poet was expelled in 1972, his works were distributed mainly in samizdat, and he received the prize while already a citizen of the United States of America.

A spiritual connection with his homeland was important to him. He kept Boris Pasternak's tie as a relic and even wanted to wear it to the Nobel Prize ceremony, but protocol rules did not allow it. Nevertheless, Brodsky still came with Pasternak’s tie in his pocket. After perestroika, Brodsky was invited to Russia more than once, but he never came to his homeland, which rejected him. “You can’t step into the same river twice, even if it’s the Neva,” he said.

From Brodsky’s Nobel Lecture: “A person with taste, particularly literary taste, is less susceptible to repetition and rhythmic incantations inherent in any form of political demagoguery. The point is not so much that virtue is no guarantee of a masterpiece, but that evil, especially political evil, is always a poor stylist. The richer the aesthetic experience of an individual, the firmer his taste, the clearer his moral choice, the freer he is - although perhaps not happier. It is in this applied rather than platonic sense that one should understand Dostoevsky’s remark that “beauty will save the world,” or Matthew Arnold’s statement that “poetry will save us.” The world probably won’t be able to be saved, but an individual can always be saved.”

Nobel Prize– one of the world's most prestigious prizes is awarded annually for outstanding scientific research, revolutionary inventions or major contribution into culture or development of society.

On November 27, 1895, A. Nobel drew up a will, which provided for the allocation of certain Money for award awards in five areas: physics, chemistry, physiology and medicine, literature and contributions to world peace. And in 1900, the Nobel Foundation was created - a private, independent, non-governmental organization with an initial capital of 31 million Swedish crowns. Since 1969, on the initiative of the Swedish Bank, awards have also been made prizes in economics.

Since the establishment of the awards, strict rules for selecting laureates have been in place. Intellectuals from all over the world participate in the process. Thousands of minds work to ensure that the most worthy candidate receives the Nobel Prize.

In total, to date, five Russian-speaking writers have received this award.

Ivan Alekseevich Bunin(1870-1953), Russian writer, poet, honorary academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1933 “for the strict skill with which he develops the traditions of Russian classical prose.” In his speech when presenting the prize, Bunin noted the courage of the Swedish Academy, which honored the emigrant writer (he emigrated to France in 1920). Ivan Alekseevich Bunin is the greatest master of Russian realistic prose.

Boris Leonidovich Pasternak(1890-1960), Russian poet, laureate of the 1958 Nobel Prize in Literature “for outstanding services to modern lyric poetry and to the field of great Russian prose.” He was forced to refuse the award under threat of expulsion from the country. The Swedish Academy recognized Pasternak's refusal of the prize as forced and in 1989 awarded a diploma and medal to his son.

Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov(1905-1984), Russian writer, winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Literature “for the artistic strength and integrity of the epic about the Don Cossacks at a turning point for Russia.” In his speech during the awards ceremony, Sholokhov said his goal was to “extol the nation of workers, builders and heroes.” Having started out as a realistic writer who was not afraid to show deep life contradictions, Sholokhov in some of his works found himself captive of socialist realism.

Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn(1918-2008), Russian writer, winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the moral strength derived from the tradition of great Russian literature." The Soviet government considered the decision of the Nobel Committee “politically hostile,” and Solzhenitsyn, fearing that after his trip, returning to his homeland would be impossible, accepted the award, but did not attend the award ceremony. In his artistic literary works, he, as a rule, touched upon acute socio-political issues, actively opposing communist ideas, the political system of the USSR and the policies of its authorities.

Joseph Alexandrovich Brodsky(1940-1996), poet, laureate of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Literature “for his multifaceted creativity, marked by acuteness of thought and deep poetry.” In 1972, he was forced to emigrate from the USSR and lived in the USA (the World Encyclopedia calls him American). I.A. Brodsky is the youngest writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. The peculiarities of the poet's lyrics are the understanding of the world as a single metaphysical and cultural whole, the identification of the limitations of man as a subject of consciousness.

If you want to get more specific information about the life and work of Russian poets and writers, to get to know their works better, online tutors We are always happy to help you. Online teachers will help you analyze a poem or write a review about the work of the selected author. Training is based on a specially developed software. Qualified teachers provide assistance in completing homework and explaining incomprehensible material; help prepare for the State Exam and the Unified State Exam. The student chooses for himself whether to conduct classes with the selected tutor for a long time, or to use the teacher’s help only in specific situations when difficulties arise with a certain task.

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Since the delivery of the first Nobel Prize 112 years have passed. Among Russians worthy of this most prestigious award in the field literature, physics, chemistry, medicine, physiology, peace and economics there were only 20 people. As for the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Russians have their own in this area personal history, not always with a positive ending.

First awarded in 1901, it bypassed the most important writer in history. Russian and world literature - Leo Tolstoy. In their 1901 address, the members of the Royal Swedish Academy formally expressed their respect for Tolstoy, calling him “the deeply revered patriarch of modern literature” and “one of those powerful, soulful poets who should be remembered first of all on this occasion,” but referred to the fact that that because of my beliefs great writer he himself “never aspired to this kind of reward.” In his response letter, Tolstoy wrote that he was glad that he was spared the difficulties associated with the disposal of so much money and that he was pleased to receive notes of sympathy from so many respected persons. Things were different in 1906, when Tolstoy, preempting his nomination for the Nobel Prize, asked Arvid Järnefeld to use all kinds of connections so as not to be put in an unpleasant position and refuse this prestigious award.

In a similar way Nobel Prize in Literature surpassed several other outstanding Russian writers, among whom was also the genius of Russian literature - Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. The first writer admitted to the “Nobel Club” was someone disliked by the Soviet government who emigrated to France Ivan Alekseevich Bunin.

In 1933, the Swedish Academy nominated Bunin for an award “for the rigorous skill with which he develops the traditions of Russian classical prose.” Among the nominees this year were also Merezhkovsky and Gorky. Bunin received Nobel Prize in Literature largely thanks to the 4 books about Arsenyev’s life that had been published by that time. During the ceremony, Per Hallström, a representative of the Academy who presented the prize, expressed admiration for Bunin’s ability to “describe real life with extraordinary expressiveness and accuracy.” In his response speech, the laureate thanked the Swedish Academy for the courage and honor it showed to the emigrant writer.

A difficult story full of disappointment and bitterness accompanies the receipt of the Nobel Prize in Literature Boris Pasternak. Nominated annually from 1946 to 1958 and awarded this high award in 1958, Pasternak was forced to abandon it. Almost becoming the second Russian writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, the writer was persecuted in his homeland, receiving stomach cancer as a result of nervous shock, from which he died. Justice triumphed only in 1989, when his son Evgeniy Pasternak received an honorary award for him “for significant achievements in modern lyric poetry, as well as for continuing the traditions of the great Russian epic novel.”

Sholokhov Mikhail Alexandrovich received the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his novel Quiet Don" in 1965. It is worth noting that the authorship of this deep epic work, despite the fact that the manuscript of the work was found and a computer match was established with printed edition, there are opponents who claim the impossibility of creating a novel that demonstrates deep knowledge of the events of the First World War and Civil War at such a young age. The writer himself, summing up his work, said: “I would like my books to help people become better, become purer in soul... If I succeeded in this to some extent, I am happy.”

Solzhenitsyn Alexander Isaevich, winner of the 1918 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the moral strength with which he followed the immutable traditions of Russian literature." Having spent most of his life in exile and exile, the writer created deep and frightening in its authenticity historical works. Upon learning of the Nobel Prize award, Solzhenitsyn expressed his desire to personally attend the ceremony. The Soviet government prevented the writer from receiving this prestigious award, calling it “politically hostile.” Thus, Solzhenitsyn never got to the desired ceremony, fearing that he would not be able to return from Sweden back to Russia.

In 1987 Brodsky Joseph Alexandrovich awarded Nobel Prize for Literature"for comprehensive creativity, imbued with clarity of thought and passion of poetry." In Russia, the poet never received lifelong recognition. He created while in exile in the USA, most of his works were written in impeccable English. In his speech as a Nobel laureate, Brodsky spoke about what was most dear to him - language, books and poetry...

Hugo Award

This award can be called one of the most democratic: its laureates are determined by the results of voting by registered participants of the World Convention of Science Fiction Fans WorldCon (therefore the award is considered a “reader’s award”).
Hugo Award - literary prize in the field science fiction. It was established in 1953 and is named after Hugo Gernsback, the creator of the first specialized science fiction magazines. The prize is awarded annually for the best works of fiction published in English. The winners are awarded a figurine in the form of a taking off rocket.

The prize is awarded in the following categories:

Best Novel
Best Novella
Best short story (Best Novellette)
Best Short Story
Best Science Fiction Book (Best Related Book)
Best Production, Large Form (Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form)
Best production small form(Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form)
Best Professional Editor
Best professional artist(Best Professional Artist)
Best semi-professional magazine (Best SemiProzine)
Best Fanzine Best Fan Writer
Best Fan Artist

Separately, the John Campbell Prize is awarded to the “Most Promising New Author of the Year”, which is awarded to a debut science fiction writer.
Along with the Hugo Award, the Gandalf Award is sometimes awarded - not for a specific work, but for a significant contribution to the development of the fantasy genre.

Renaudo Prize

Bears the name of Theophrastus Renaudo (1586-1653) - French royal physician, historiographer, one of the creators of modern journalism, publisher of the first European newspaper “La Gazette”.
The award was established in 1925 by journalists languishing in anticipation of the results of the meeting of the Goncourt jury. Therefore, the Renaudo Prize is always awarded on the same day as the Goncourt Prize.
Despite the "lack of money", it is the second most important literary award in France after the Goncourt.
The reward is that a year after it is awarded, a fun dinner is held in honor of the winner.
Among the laureates different years- Marcel Aimé, Louis-Ferdinand Celine, Louis Aragon, Roger Peyrefitte, Suzanne Proulx, Daniel Pennac, Frédéric Beigbeder.

Cervantes Prize

The Cervantes Literary Prize, established by the Spanish Ministry of Culture in 1975, is valued in the Spanish-speaking world no less than the Nobel Prize. The monetary part of the “Spanish Nobel Prize” is 90 thousand euros, it is awarded annually to the next laureate by the King of All Spain, Juan Carlos, in the homeland of the author of “Don Quixote” - in the town of Alcala de Henares, which is 50 kilometers from Madrid.
Since there are many good and diverse Spanish-speaking writers, according to an unwritten tradition, the award goes alternately to representatives of either Spain or Latin American countries. For example, in 2005, the winner was 72-year-old Sergio Pitol, the author of numerous novels, essays and poems, a translator of foreign writers, including Anton Chekhov, and a former diplomat. A significant role in awarding the prize to the Mexican was played by the fact that in 2004 it was given to the Spaniard Rafael Sanchez Ferlosio.

James Tait Award

Britain's oldest literary award is the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, awarded by the University of Edinburgh since 1919 to the best novelists and writers of biography.
Its laureates in different time became Evelyn Waugh, Iris Murdoch, Graham Greene, Ian McEwan.
In 2007, the prize was awarded to American writer Cormac McCarthy for his novel The Road.
In 2008, the award was given to Rosalind Belben in the Fiction category for her novel Our Horses in Egypt, and in the Biography category to Rosemary Hill for her book The Divine Architect Pugin and buildings of British romanticism" (God's Architect: Pugin and the Building of Romantic Britain").

Orange Award

Representatives women's prose in the UK there is simply freedom: the Orange Prize has existed since 1996, especially for women writers writing in English. The winners are awarded a bronze statuette with the affectionate name Bessie and a check for the pleasant sum of £30,000.
In 2006, the lucky winner of the above-mentioned prize was thirty-year-old Londoner Zadie Smith with her novel On Beauty. It was nominated for the Booker in 2005 but lost to John Banville's The Sea. Zadie Smith is no stranger to the Orange Prize: her previous novels, White Teeth and The Autograph Man, have already been shortlisted for the prize. In 2007, the winner was Nigerian Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author of the novel “Half of a Yellow Sun.” The 2008 winner was Rose Tremain for her novel The Road Home. In 2009, American Marilynne Robinson won with her novel “Home.” In 2010, for the novel “Lacuna” the winner was American writer Barbara Kingsolver, who was already shortlisted for the award in 1999 with The Poisonwood Bible.
Since 2005, the Orange New Writers Award has been awarded (prize fund - 10,000 pounds, or $17,500) for best debut in English. In 2006, our former compatriot Olga Grushina, now living in the USA, claimed it with her novel “The Dream Life of Sukhanov”. Her competitors were the Chinese Yiyun Li, with her book “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers,” and the Englishwoman Naomi Alderman, author of the novel “Disobedience.” Alderman received the award, and in 2007 the award went to Karen Connelly for her novel The Lizard Cage.
However, the contestants who were passed over for prizes have no reason to complain about a lack of understanding of their women’s prose: the jury of the award is made up exclusively of women.

Nobel Prize in Literature

The prize, founded by Swedish chemical engineer, inventor and industrialist Alfred Bernhard Nobel and named after him as the Nobel Prize, is the world's most prestigious and most criticized. Of course, this is largely due to the size of the Nobel Prize: the award consists of a gold medal with the image of A. Nobel and the corresponding inscription, a diploma and, most importantly, a check for a sum of money. The size of the latter depends on the profits of the Nobel Foundation. According to Nobel's will, drawn up on November 27, 1895, his capital (initially over 31 million Swedish crowns) was invested in shares, bonds and loans. The income from them is divided annually into 5 equal parts and becomes prizes for the most outstanding world achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and for activities to strengthen peace.
The first awards were awarded on December 10, 1901 and amounted to 150 thousand Swedish crowns (6.8 million crowns in 2000 terms). Last year, the Nobel winners received 10 million Swedish crowns, or about 1 million 300 thousand dollars.
Particular passions flare up around the Nobel Prize in Literature. The main complaints against the Swedish Academy in Stockholm (it is the one that identifies the most worthy writers) are the decisions of the Nobel Committee themselves, and the fact that they are made in strict secrecy. The Nobel Committee announces only the number of applicants for a particular prize, but does not name their names. Evil tongues also claim that the prize is sometimes given for political reasons, not literary motives. The main trump card of critics and detractors is Leo Tolstoy, Nabokov, Joyce, Borges, who were bypassed by the Nobel Prize...
However, the list of Nobel Prize laureates in literature is more than impressive.
As we see, our compatriots became Nobel winners 5 times: 1933 - Bunin, 1958 - Pasternak (under pressure Soviet authorities refused the prize), 1965 - Sholokhov, 1970 - Solzhenitsyn and 1987 - Brodsky.
The prize is awarded annually on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death. The Swedish king traditionally awards Nobel writers in Stockholm. Within 6 months after receiving the Nobel Prize, the laureate must give a Nobel lecture on the topic of his work.

International Prize named after G.-H. Andersen

For the appearance of this prize, we must thank the German writer Jelle Lepmann (1891-1970). And not only for this. It was Mrs. Lepman who achieved that, by decision of UNESCO, the birthday of G.-H. Andersen, April 2, became International Children's Book Day. She also initiated the creation of the International Council on Children's and Youth Books (IBBY), an organization uniting writers, artists, literary scholars, and librarians from more than sixty countries. Since 1956, IBBY has awarded the International G.-H. Andersen, which with the light hand of the same Ella Lepman is called the “little Nobel Prize” for children's literature. Since 1966, this award has also been given to illustrators of children's books.
The laureates receive a gold medal with the profile of a great storyteller every 2 years at the next IBBY congress. The award is given only to living writers and artists. The first winner of the “children's Nobel Prize” in 1956 was the English storyteller Eleanor Farjeon, known in our country for her translations of the books “I Want the Moon” and “The Seventh Princess.” In 1958, the award was received by the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren. Among other laureates there are also many world-famous stars - German writers Erich Kästner and James Crews, Italian Gianni Rodari, Bohumil Rzhiga from Czechoslovakia, Austrian writer Christine Nestlinger... Alas, our compatriots are not on the list of “Andersenists”, although the Russian Children's Book Council is included in IBBY since 1968. Only illustrator Tatyana Alekseevna Mavrina (1902-1996) received the Andersen Medal in 1976.
True, the International Children's Book Council has another award - an Honorary Diploma for individual books for children, for their illustrations and best translations into the languages ​​of the world. And among the diploma recipients there are many “ours” - writers Radiy Pogodin, Yuri Koval, Valentin Berestov, Agnia Barto, Sergei Mikhalkov, artists Lev Tokmakov, Boris Diodorov, Viktor Chizhikov, Mai Miturich, translators Yakov Akim, Yuri Kushak, Irina Tokmakova and others.

Astrid Lindgren International Literary Prize

Another award for children's writers is named after the “mother” of Carlson and Calle the Detective, Pippi Longstocking and... However, the list of heroes from the books of the famous Swede Astrid Lindgren could take a long time. Better memory his books are about the writer, but the Swedish Government immediately after Lindgren’s death decided to establish a literary prize named after the world-famous storyteller. “I hope that the Prize will serve the dual purpose of serving as a reminder of Astrid and her life's work, as well as promoting and promoting good children's literature,” said Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson.
The annual International Literary Award by Astrid Lindgren (The Astrid Lingren Memorial Award) “For works for children and youth” should attract world attention to literature for children and adolescents and to children's rights. Therefore, it can be awarded not only to a writer or artist for an exceptional contribution to the development of children's books, but also for any activity to promote reading and protect children's rights. The monetary content of the award is also attractive - 500,000 euros. The lucky winners of the award are determined by 12 honorary citizens of the country, members of the State Cultural Council of Sweden. By tradition, the name of the laureate of this award is announced every year in March in Astrid Lindgren's homeland. The award is presented to the laureate in May in Stockholm.
On March 18, 2003, the first winners were announced - Austrian writer Christine Nöstlinger and American artist, creator of the original picture books Maurice Sendak. In 2004, the award was received by a Brazilian writer, laureate of the International Literary Prize. Andersen Lij Bozhunga, in 2006 - American Katherine Paterson.
The 2007 award winner was the Venezuelan “Bank of Books” (Banco del Libro), a non-profit organization founded in 1960 in the capital of Venezuela, Caracas. Its goal is to popularize children's literature, publishing activities, and expand the network of libraries and bookstores. The award was awarded for activity, professionalism, work in direct contact with children and lack of bureaucracy.
In 2008, the award was given to 40-year-old Australian writer Sonia Hartnett, the author of more than a dozen stories for teenagers.
The 2009 Laureate is the Palestinian Independent public organization Tamer Institute for Community Education, which promotes reading in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
In 2010, the prize was awarded to the writer and illustrator Kitty Crowther (Belgium).

Grintsane Cavour

In 2001, UNESCO declared the Grinzane Cavour Prize "an exemplary institution international culture" Despite its short history (established in Turin in 1982), the prize has become one of the most prestigious literary awards Europe. It received its name from the 13th century Turin castle: Count Benso Cavour, the first prime minister of united Italy, used to live there, and now the headquarters of the award is located there.
The main goal of “Grinzane Cavour” is to introduce the younger generation to literature, for which the jury includes both venerable literary critics and schoolchildren. About a thousand teenagers from Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, the Czech Republic, the USA, Cuba, and Japan vote for the books of the authors nominated for the award. It must be admitted that schoolchildren have good literary taste - among the laureates of past years were: Günter Grass, Czeslaw Milosz, Carlos Fuentes, Bogumil Hrabal, Kenzaburo Oe, Yves Bonnefoy, Jean Starobinsky, Vidiadhar Naipaul, Doris Lessing, Toni Morrison, Daniel Pennac, John Maxwell Coetzee, Mario Vargas Llosa, Anita Desai, Derek Walcott, Amitav Ghose, Don DeLillo.
Since 2004, in Russia, translators from Italian or authors of works published in Italy and related to Italian themes have been awarded the Grinzane Cavour Moscow prize. In 2004, it was received by Evgeniy Rein, Elena Kostyukovich and Vladislav Otroshenko, in 2005 - by Natalia Stavrovskaya and Asar Eppel. In 2007, the winner of the “Grinzane Cavour Moscow” was the writer Mikhail Shishkin, winner of the “Big Book” 2006 and the “National Bestseller”, and translator Elena Dmitrieva, author of Russian versions of Lampedusa’s “The Leopard”, works by Leonardo Sciasci, Primo Levi and others.
In 2008, the winner of the award in the category “Best Prose in a Foreign Language” was Lyudmila Ulitskaya for her novel “Sincerely Yours, Shurik” (in addition to Ulitskaya, the winners in this category were Spanish and german writers Bernardo Achaga and Ingo Schulze).

Prix ​​Goncourt

France's main literary prize, the Prix Goncourt, established in 1896 and awarded since 1902, is awarded to the author of the best novel or collection of short stories of the year. French, not necessarily living in France. It bears the name of the French classics Goncourt brothers - Edmond Louis Antoine (1832-1896) and Jules Alfred Huot (1830-1869). The younger, Edmond, bequeathed his enormous fortune to the literary Academy, which became known as the Goncourt Academy and established an annual prize of the same name.
The Goncourt Academy includes 10 of the most famous writers in France, who work not for personal gain, but for a nominal fee - 60 francs per year. Everyone has one vote and can cast it for one book, only the president has two votes. Members of the Goncourt Academy at different times were the writers A. Daudet, J. Renard, Rosny Sr., F. Eria, E. Bazin, Louis Aragon... In 2008, the charter of the Goncourt Academy changed: now the age of the jury members of the prestigious Goncourt Prize should not exceed 80 years.
The monetary content of the award is purely symbolic - currently it is 10 euros. But after the prize is awarded, sales of the winning book increase sharply, bringing both fame and income to the author.
Initially, the prize was conceived as a reward for young writers for original talent, new and bold searches for content and form. However, these wishes of the founder E. Goncourt were soon forgotten. Before the Second World War (and even after), cases of its award for truly outstanding works can be counted on one hand - for example, the Goncourt Prize went to the anti-war novel “Fire” by Henri Barbusse. But the name of the first laureate, John-Antoine Hay (1903), has long been forgotten; his works (like many other winners of the Goncourt Prize) have never been known outside of France. Although among the “goncuriates” there were also real celebrities - Marcel Proust (1919), Maurice Druon (1948), Simone de Beauvoir (1954). Once in the more than century-long history of the prize, the laureate was a native of Russia, Andrei Makin, for his novel “The French Testament,” translated into 30 languages.
The French writer A. Style once noted that “The Goncourt Prize tends, on the one hand, to rise, and on the other, to fall sharply.” However, she’s not the only one...

Selected laureates:

1916 - Henri Barbusse, "Fire"
1919 - Marcel Proust, “Under the Canopy of Girls in Bloom”
1933 - Andre Malraux, “The Lot of Man”
1951 - Julien Gracq, “The Coast of Sirte” (refused the prize)
1954 - Simone de Beauvoir, “Tangerines”
1956 - Romain Gary, “The Roots of the Sky”
1970 - Michel Tournier, “The King of the Forest”
1974 - Pascal Lenet, “The Lacemaker”
1975 - Emile Azhar (Romain Gary), “The Whole Life Ahead”
1978 - Patrick Modiano, “Street of Dark Shops”
1982 - Dominic Fernandez, “In the Palm of an Angel”
1984 - Marguerite Duras, "The Lover"
1988 - Eric Orsenna, "Colonial Exhibition"
1993 - Amin Maalouf, "The Rock of Tanios"
1994 - Didier Van Coveler, “One Way”
1995 - Andrey Makin, “The French Testament”
1997 - Patrick Rambeau, "Battle"
2002 - Pascal Quignard, “Stray Shadows”
2007 - Gilles Leroy, “Song of Alabama”
2008 - Atik Rahimi, “Singe Sabur. Stone of Patience"
2009 - Marie Ndiaye, “Three Strong Women”
2010 - Laurent Binet, “HHhH”

Booker Prize

Any resident of the Commonwealth of Nations or Ireland whose novel in English is considered worthy of worldwide fame and 50 thousand pounds sterling can receive the Booker Prize. The award has been presented since 1969, sponsored by the Man Group since 2002, and officially named The Man Booker Prize.
How is the winner determined? First, a list of approximately one hundred books is compiled by an annual advisory committee of publishers and representatives of the writing world, literary agents, booksellers, libraries and the Man Booker Prize Foundation. The committee approves a jury of five people - famous literary critics, writers, scientists, and public figures. In August, the jury announces a “long list” of 20-25 novels, in September – six participants in the “short list”, and in October – the laureate himself.
Four times Booker was the “foundry of personnel” for the Nobel Prize: bookers William Golding, Nadine Gordimer, V. S. Naipaul and J. M. Coetzee later became laureates of the Nobel Prize in Literature. J.M. Coetzee and Peter Carey have won the Booker twice (1983 and 1999; 1988 and 2001, respectively). No one has surpassed the record of Iris Murdoch (Booker winner in 1978) for the number of times she was shortlisted - 6 times. The last laureate (in 2005) was the Irishman John Banville with his novel “The Sea”, who overtook such masters as Coetzee, Salman Rushdie, Julian Barnes, Ian McEwen and others in the prize marathon.
To mark the 40th anniversary of the prize, a special “Booker of All Time” award appeared. Its laureate was to be the booker, whose work was considered by readers to be the best novel in all the years of the award's existence. According to the results of online voting, British prose writer and poet of Indian origin Sir Salman Rushdie won with his novel Midnight's Children.
Russians get acquainted with book-carrying books thanks to the series “Booker Prize: Selections”, published since 2002 by the publishing house “ROSMEN”. It includes works from the “long” and “short” lists.
In addition, there is the International Booker Prize, which is awarded every two years. It is awarded to a writer who writes in English or an author whose works are widely translated into English.
In 2009, she was among the finalists of the International Booker Russian writer, Russian Booker winner Lyudmila Ulitskaya, and the prize winner in May 2009 was the 77-year-old Canadian writer Alice Munro, known mainly for her short stories. The monetary content of the award is 103 thousand dollars.

World's largest premium per individual literary work- 100 thousand euros. It is awarded to the winners of the international IMPAC award, established in 1996 by Dublin City Council.
In this city, glorified by Joyce, the award ceremony takes place. Although the headquarters of the international company IMPAC (Improved Management Productivity and Control), whose name the award bears, is located in Florida and has no direct connection with literature. IMPAC, a global leader in productivity improvement, is working on projects for largest corporations and organizations in 65 countries.
True, high writing productivity (combined with quality) can also bring premium results. To participate in the competition, the work must be written or translated in English language and withstand intense international competition: 185 library systems in 51 countries are eligible to nominate applicants.