And the award goes to...
"Great, big, serious novels always get awards. If it's a battle between a great, big, serious novel and a funny novel, the funny novel is doomed."
--Neil Gaiman, author of "Coraline"
The literary world was surprised by the announcement there would be no Pulitzer Prize awarded this year for fiction. The last year no award was given was 1977. Honorable mentions included Swamplandia! by Karen Russell and Pale King by the late David Foster Wallace. Pale King is a perfect choice for this month - it spins the tale of life at an IRS center in Peoria, Illinois.
It can be a mystery why some books win prestigious awards. Or why other books get shut out (because they're funny?). Nevertheless, award lists can be helpful when searching for that next good read.
Check out http://www.ala.org/ for more award-winning lists.
Newbery Medal - Given for "distinguished contribution to American literature for children" according to ALA.
2012 - Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos.
Other Newbery books to consider:
1993 - Missing May by Cynthia Rylant.
1995 - Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech.
1996 - Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman.
Caldecott Medal - Given to the artist of the "most distinguished American picture book" according to ALA.
2012 - A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka.
Other Caldecott winners to consider:
1991 - Black & White by David Macaulay.
1992 - Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg.
2002 - Three Pigs by David Wiesner.
2006 - The Hello Goodbye Window by Chris Raschka.
Laura Ingalls Wilder Award - "Honors authors or illustrators whose books have made a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children" according to ALA.
2012 - Tomie dePaola. A sample of his work: Strega Nona and 26 Fairmount Avenue.
Coretta Scott King Award - "Recognizes outstanding books for young adults and children by African-American authors or illustrators" according to ALA.
2012 - Author: Heart and Soul by Kadir Nelson
Illustrator: Underground by Shane W. Evans.
Notable Books for Adults - The Notable Book Council lists outstanding books.
2012 (Fiction) - Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt; Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach; Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur Phillips and Swamplandia! by Karen Russell.
2012 (Non-fiction) - Memory Palace by Mira Bartok; Information by James Gleick; and Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.
A sample of Pulitzer Prize winners:
(fiction)
2011 - A Vist from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan.
2009 - Olive Kittredge by Elizabeth Strout.
2006 - March by Geraldine Brooks.
2005 - Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.
1996 - Independence Day by Richard Ford.
1995 - Stone Diaries by Carol Shields.
(autobiography)
2011 - Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow.
2009 - American Lion by Jon Meachum.
2006 - American Prometheus by Kai Bird & Martin Sherwin
2002 - John Adams by David McCullough.
(non-fiction)
2011 - Emperer of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee.
2010 - The Dead Hand by David Hoffman.
2002 - Carry Me Home by Diane McWhorter.
1998 - Guns, Germs & Steel by Jared Diamond.
1986 - Common Ground by Anthony Lukas.
National Book Awards - Administered by the National Book Foundation.
(fiction)
1999 - Waiting by Ha Jin.
2002 - Three Junes by Julia Glass.
2007 - Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson.
(non-fiction)
2005 - Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion.
2008 - Hemingses of Monticello by Annette Gordon-Reed.
2010 - Just Kids by Patti Smith.
The Orange Award is the United Kingdom's annual award for female fiction writers. Winners will be announced May 30. On the shortlist:
(Irish) Anne Enright - The Forgotten; (Canadian) Esi Edugyan - Half Blood Blues; (British) Georgina Harding - Painter of Silence; (American) Madeline Miller - Song of Achilles; Cynthia Ozick - Foreign Bodies; Ann Patchett - State of Wonder.
