Bestsellers & Award Winners

New York Times Bestsellers

Award Lists

American Library Association Awards:

  • Caldecott Medal for best picture books
  • Coretta Scott King Book Award for books for young adults and children that reflect the African American experience.
  • John Newbery Medal for distinguished contributions to children's literature.
  • Printz Award for literary excellence in young adult literature.
  • Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction 
  • The Reading List for outstanding genre fiction in suspense, thrillers, and action adventure, fantasy, historical fiction, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction, and relationship fiction. However, the Council is constructed in such a way to be adaptable to new genres and changes in contemporary reading interest.

Bancroft Prize:

  • The Bancroft Prizes are awarded annually by Columbia University in the City of New York. Under the terms of the will of the late Fredric Bancroft, provision is made for two annual prizes of equal rank to be awarded to the authors of distinguished works in either or both of the following categories: American History (including biography) and Diplomacy.

Pulitzer Prizes: 

  • Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for distinguished fiction published in book form during the year by an American author, preferably dealing with American life.
  • Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction for a distinguished and appropriately documented book of nonfiction by an American author that is not eligible for consideration in any other category. 
  • Pulitzer Prize in Drama, for a distinguished play by an American author, preferably original in its source and dealing with American life.
  • Pulitzer Prize in History for a distinguished and appropriately documented book on the history of the United States.
  • Pulitzer Prize in Biography for a distinguished biography, autobiography or memoir by an American author.
  • Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author.

PEN Literary Awards: 

  • PEN/Jean Stein Book Award is an annual award which recognizes a book-length work of any genre for its originality, merit, and impact, which has broken new ground by reshaping the boundaries of its form and signaling strong potential for lasting influence.
  • PEN Open Book Award, created by PEN America’s Open Book Committee, a group committed to racial and ethnic diversity within the literary and publishing communities awards works of fiction, literary nonfiction, biography/memoir, poetry, and other works of literary character.
  • Vladimir Nabokov Literary Foundation award is conferred annually to a living author whose body of work—either written in or translated into English—represents the highest level of achievement in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and/or drama, and is of enduring originality and consummate craftsmanship.
  • PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection honors an exceptionally talented fiction writer whose debut book, a collection of short stories, represents distinguished literary achievement and suggests great promise for a second work of literary fiction. 
  • PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel honors a debut novel of exceptional merit by an American author who has not previously published a full-length book of fiction.
  • PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award celebrates writing that exemplifies literary excellence on the subject of the physical or biological sciences and communicates complex scientific concepts to a lay audience.
  • PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction  is awarded each year to the author of a distinguished book of nonfiction possessing notable literary merit and critical perspective that illuminates important contemporary issues.
  • PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography is awarded for excellence in the art of biography. This prize of $5,000 goes to the author of a distinguished work published in the United States during the previous calendar year.

Nobel Prize:

  • Nobel Prize in Literature for an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction"

National Book Critics Circle Award:

Genre Fiction Awards:

  • The Hugo Awards for excellence in the field of science fiction and fantasy. They were first awarded in 1953, and have been awarded every year since 1955.
  • The Edgar Awards for distinguished work in various categories of the mystery genre.
  • Romance Writers of America Award for excellence in published romance novels and novellas.
  • Audie Awards for the best titles in audio publishing across 25 categories.
  • Stoker Awards for the best horror novels across twelve categories.
  • Nebula Awards for outstanding novel, novella, novelette, and short stories.
  • World Fantasy Awards for the best fantasy fiction across five categories.
  • Dagger Awards for the best crime novels of the year.

International Literary Awards:

  • Prix Goncourt, for the best and most imaginative prose work in french across four categories.  
  • Princesa de Asturias Award  to individuals from around the world who make notable achievements in literature.
  • The Booker Prize is awarded to what is, in the opinion of the judges, the best novel of the year written in English and published in the UK and Ireland.
  • Jerusalem Prize, awarded biennially, to a writer whose work best expresses and promotes the idea of “freedom of the individual in society.”