Award Winners

medallion and gold stars with text that reads award winnersThe easiest way to browse lists of award winning books of all kinds and quickly place holds is on NoveList.

Here's how:

  1. Visit NoveList, log in with your library card

  2. In the Main Menu, click Browse By > Award Winners

  3. Browse the lists

  4. Found a book you want? Click the Check the library catalog link and place a hold in the SAILS catalogCheck the library catalog screenshot

 

Literary Awards & Prizes

Browse these lists for access without a library card. Visit this page to get a library card.

Agatha Awards are presented to mystery books in six categories. Malice Domestic Ltd. confers this award, which is named after their inspiration, Agatha Christie. Books that receive consideration usually feature an amateur detective, and contain no explicit violence or sex. 

Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction recognize the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. in the previous year. They are the first single-book awards for adult books given by the American Library Association (ALA) and reflect the expert judgment and insight of library professionals who work closely with adult readers. 

Anthony Awards are among the most prestigious awards in the world of mystery and are awarded in six categories. The World Mystery Convention confers the Anthony Awards each fall at Bouchercon, a convention for fans of mystery writing. The name of the award and the conference honor Anthony Boucher, pen name of William Anthony Parker White, an eminent critic and mystery writer, and one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America.

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature is awarded to fiction and nonfiction published in the previous year. The Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), an affiliate of the American Library Association, awards titles based on their literary and artistic merit.

Audie Awards recognize distinction in audiobooks and spoken word entertainment in numerous genres. The awards are sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association (APA).

Booker Prize honors the author of an English language novel published in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the current year. Also referred to as the Man Booker Prize as it is now sponsored by the Man Group. 

Bram Stoker Awards are given “for superior achievement,” not for “best of the year,” in thirteen categories of the horror genre. Established in 1987 and named for the author of Dracula, Horror Writers Association (HWA) members vote to honor superior achievement in dark fantasy, horror, and the occult. The rules are deliberately designed to make ties possible. 

Christy Award names ten novels as the best in Christian fiction, chosen by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

Dagger Awards are presented by the Crime Writers' Association (CWA) to seven books and short stories for the best crime writing of the year.

Hugo Awards are science fiction’s most prestigious awards. The Hugo Awards are voted on by members of the World Science Fiction Convention (“Worldcon”). 

Macavity Awards are presented each year by the members of Mystery Readers International to their favorite mysteries in five categories. The Macavity Award is named for the “mystery cat” of T.S. Eliot (Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats).

Mass Book Awards recognize significant works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, and children’s/young adult literature written, illustrated, or translated by current Commonwealth residents. These awards are presented by the Massachusetts Center for the Book. 

National Book Awards honor the best fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, and young people’s literature published each year. The awards are overseen by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to celebrate the best literature published in the United States, expand its audience, and ensure that books have a prominent place in our culture.

Nebula Awards are awarded to outstanding and popular works of science fiction or fantasy. The Nebula Awards are voted on by active members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded to an author from any country who has, in the words of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, “in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction.” Though individual works are sometimes cited as being particularly noteworthy, the award is based on an author's body of work as a whole. The award is chosen annually by the Swedish Academy. 

PEN/Faulkner Award in Fiction honors the best published works of fiction by American permanent residents in a calendar year. Three writers are chosen annually by the Board of Directors of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to serve as judges, ensuring that the selection process is free of commercial influence. These judges select an initial longlist of ten books, followed by five finalists, and finally one winner as the “first among equals.” 

Pulitzer Prizes are regarded as the highest national honor in literary achievement (among other categories). Six literary prizes are awarded annually by the Pulitzer Prize Board in the following categories:

Sophie Brody Medal is given to encourage, recognize and commend outstanding achievement in Jewish literature, as defined as fiction, nonfiction, or poetry that has as its central purpose the exploration of the Jewish experience. The religious affiliation of the author will not be considered in the awarding of the medal or the honor books. The medal is funded by Sophie and Arthur Brody Foundation.

Stonewall Book Awards honor books of literature, nonfiction, children’s, and young adult literature with exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience. The first and most enduring award for LGBTQIA+ books, the awards are sponsored by the American Library Association's (ALA) Rainbow Round Table.

W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction honors the best military fiction set in a period when the United States was at war. Donated by William Young Boyd and presented by the American Library Association (ALA), this award recognizes the service of American veterans and military personnel and encourages the writing and publishing of outstanding war-related fiction.

Celebrity Book Club Lists:

Oprah’s Book Club Since 1996, Oprah has selected books that engender conversation, spark enlightenment, help launch emerging authors, and reacquaint us with the already prominent.

Reese’s Book Club Each month, Reese, our founder (and book-lover-in-chief) chooses a book with a woman at the center of the story. There's not a formula to the books we spotlight, and we like it that way. We make our choices thoughtfully and look for ways to deepen our connection to books, authors and ourselves.

American Library Association (ALA) Lists: 

Essential Cookbooks: The CODES List Librarians on the Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) of the ALA highlight cookbook titles for avid home chefs, those just learning the rewards of making a meal, and folks who enjoy reading a good cookbook even if they rarely venture into the kitchen. 

Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration Listen List Council selects twelve titles including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and plays that merit special attention by general adult listeners and the librarians who work with them.
Notable Books List Notable Books Council selects 25 very good, very readable, and at times very important fiction, nonfiction, and poetry books for the adult reader.

Reading List Librarians on the Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) of the ALA seek to highlight outstanding genre fiction that merits special attention by general adult readers.