1. The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award - £85,000 (€100,000)
The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award has been presented annually since 1996, and currently offers a top prize of €100,000 (approx. £85,000). It is the largest prize for a single novel published in English and nominations are made by public libraries around the world. Kevin Barry won the 2013 award for his novel City of Bohane.
2. The Man Booker International Prize - £60,000
The international prize, open to fiction writers from across the world, is awarded every two years to a writer who has made a substantial contribution to world literature. Unlike the annual Man Booker Prize, this £60,000 award is based on a writer’s entire body of work, rather than a single novel. The American short story writer Lydia Davis was the winner of the 2013 prize.
3. The Man Booker Prize - £50,000
Arguably the most prestigious UK literary prize, the Man Booker awards £50,000 each year for a full-length novel written by a citizen of the Commonwealth, the Republic of Ireland or Zimbabwe. Next year, the rules of admission are changing. The prize will be open to any novel originally written in English and published in the UK, regardless of the nationality of the author. Critics have complained that, by opening up the award to American writers, British novelists will lose out, but Jonathan Taylor, Chair of the Booker Prize Foundation, says: "We are embracing the freedom of English in its versatility, in its vigour, in its vitality and in its glory wherever it may be."
Eleanor Catton, one of the favourites for the 2013 Man Booker Prize (photo: Heathcliff O'Malley)
4. The Folio Prize - £40,000
Launched in 2013, the Folio Prize will be worth £40,000 to its first winner, who will be announced in March 2014. Initially called the Literature Prize (until a sponsor was found), it will be awarded each year for an outstanding work of prose fiction written anywhere in the world and published in English and in the UK during the previous year. The character and qualities of the prize are shaped by the Folio Prize Academy, an international group of writers and critics who are immersed in the world of books. The Academy will play a decisive role in selecting titles to be considered for the shortlist – each year the judges will be drawn from its number.
5. David Cohen Prize for Literature - £40,000
Also worth £40,000, the David Cohen prize has been awarded every other year since its launch in 1993 in recognition of an entire career. The works must be written or translated into English. The 2013 prize went to Hilary Mantel for a lifetime of achievement in literature.
6. Costa Book Award – Book of the Year - £35,000
The Costa Book of the Year, worth £35,000, is selected from the winners of five sub-categories: first novel, novel, biography, poetry and children’s book. The winner of each category is given £5,000, and the overall winner receives a futher £30,000. (The Short Story Award winner receives £3,000; the authors in second and third place receive £1,500 and £500 respectively.) Category shortlists will be announced on November 27, category winners will be announced on January 7 2014, and the 2013 Costa Book of the year winner on January 28. Hilary Mantel won in 2012 for Bring Up the Bodies.
7. The Women’s Prize for Fiction - £30,000
Formerly known as the Orange Prize, the Women's Prize for Fiction awards £30,000 annually for a novel written in English (by a woman of any nationality) that demonstrates "excellence, originality and accessibility". The 2013 winner was the American author AM Homes, for her novel May We Be Forgiven. Next year, the prize will be sponsored by Baileys, the cream liqueur.
AM Homes, winner of this year's £30,000 Women's Prize for Fiction (Photo: Peter Lee Ash)
8. The Dylan Thomas Prize - £30,000
The Dylan Thomas Prize, launched in 2006, is aimed specifically at young authors. £30,000 is granted for the best published literary work written in English, by an author under 30. Maggie Shipstead won in 2012 for her book, Seating Arrangements. The shortlist for 2013, announced last week, included seven writers from Australia, India, America, England and Wales, reflecting the "truly international scope of the prize".
9. Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award - £30,000
£30,000 is presented each year for a short story written English. Previous winners have included Junot Díaz, Kevin Barry, Anthony Doerr and CK Stead.
10. The Walter Scott Historical Prize - £25,000
The prize was launched in 2009 to commemorate the legacy of Sir Walter Scott. Its inaugural winner, perhaps unsurprisingly, was Hilary Mantel. Worth £25,000, the prize is one of the most prestigious accolades for writers of historical fiction. The Malaysian author Tan Twan Eng received the 2013 award for his second novel, The Garden of Evening Mists.
11. The Warwick Prize for Writing - £25,000
The biennual £25,000 Warwick Prize for Writing, founded in 2009, does not discriminate between works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Previous winners have included Peter Forbes in 2011 for his work Dazzled and Deceived: Mimicry and Camouflage. Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine, won in 2009. The 2013 prize was won by Alice Oswald, who became the first poet to win the prize, which is self-funded by the University of Warwick. Anyone who is a part of the Warwick community may nominate an author.
12. The Samuel Johnson Prize - £20,000
The Samuel Johnson Prize has been awarded annually since its launch in 1998 and is the richest exclusively non-fiction prize in the UK. The prize aims to reward the best of non-fiction and is open to authors writing in the areas of current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts. Wade Davis won in 2012 for his book, Into The Silence: The Great War, Mallory and The Conquest of Everest. This year's winner will be announced on November 4, chosen from a shortlist of six books that include Margaret Thatcher by Charles Moore, and Return of a King, by William Dalrymple.
Charles Moore with Lady Thatcher: his authorised biography of the late prime minister is shortlisted for this year's £20,000 Samuel Johnson Prize (photo: Caroline Moore)
13. Children’s Laureate - £15,000
The role of Children’s Laureate is awarded once every two years to an eminent writer or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field. The title comes with a bursary of £15,000 and was first entrusted to illustrator Quentin Blake (1999 to 2001). Malorie Blackman, author of books such as Noughts and Crosses, holds the current (2013 to 2015) title.
14. The TS Eliot Prize - £15,000
Named the "prize most poets want to win" by Andrew Motion, the TS Eliot prize is one of the most coveted awards for any poet. £15,000 is given annually for the best new collection of poetry. Previous winners include Ted Hughes (1998), and Alice Oswald (2002), who also won the 2013 Warwick Prize. The shortlist for this year's prize, which is now in its 20th anniversary year, will be announced on October 24.
15. BBC National Short Story Award - £15,000
This annual prize, managed in partnership with Booktrust, was established in 2006 in order to reward "homegrown" talent and is only open to writers resident in the UK. £15,000 is awarded for first prize, £3000 for the runner-up and £500 for the additional writers that reach the shortlist. Sarah Hall won this year's prize for her story Mrs Fox. Last year, the award was opened up to international writers to mark the London Olympics.
16. The RSL Ondaatje Prize - £10,000
Similar to the Warwick Prize for Writing, the Ondaatje Prize is awarded to a "distinguished" work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry. Philip Hensher won this year for his novel Scenes from Early Life.
17. Guardian First Book Award - £10,000
The £10,000 prize is awarded for first-time writers.
18. James Tait Black Prize - £10,000
Presented by Edinburgh University, the prize, founded in 1919, is one of the oldest literary awards in the UK. £10,000 is awarded annually for the best biography and the best work of fiction written in the previous year. In 2012, £10,000 was also awarded for Best Drama for a new play written in English, Scots or Gaelic. To celebrate 250 years of English study at Edinburgh Univeristy, the judges gave out an additional prize, declaring Angela Carter's novel Nights at the Circus as "the best of the best" of previous James Tait Black winners. (It won in 1984.)
Angela Carter, whose novel, Nights at the Circus, was declared 'best of the best' of previous James Tait Black winners
19. Desmond Elliot Prize - £10,000
The Desmond Eliot Prize is presented to the author of a first novel written or translated in English and published in the UK. The winner of this year's prize was Ros Barber for her novel The Marlowe Papers, which was written entirely in verse.
20. RSL Jerwood Award for Non fiction - £10,000
The Royal Society of Literature and the Jerwood Charitable Foundation offer three annual awards - one of £10,000 and two of £5000 - to writers undertaking their first major works of non-fiction. The 2012 winners were Ramita Navai for City of Lies (to be published in 2014) Edmund Gordon for Angela Carter - The Biography (2016), and Dr Gwen Adshead for A Short Book about Evil (2014). This year's winners will be announced in December.
21. Forward Prize for Poetry - £10,000
The Forward Prizes for Poetry, run by the Forward Arts Foundation, were established in 1991 with the aim of extending poetry's audience and raising its public profile. Three prizes are awarded each year: Best Collection (£10,000); The Felix Dennis Best First Collection of Poetry (£5,000); and, in memory of Michael Donaghy, a prize for the Best single Poem (£1,000). This year's winners were Michael Symmons Roberts, Emily Berry and Nick MacKinnon.
22. The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize - £10,000
Worth £10,000, the prize rewards the best work of fiction by a living author, which has been translated into English from any other language and published in the UK. The prize money is split evenly between the writer and translator. First awarded in 1990, the prize ran until 1995 and was revived in 2000 with support from Arts Council England, who continue to fund the award. This year's winner was Gerbrand Bakker for The Detour, which was translated by David Colmer.
23. The Goldsmiths Prize - £10,000
Launched in January 2013, the prize will award £10,000 to a work of fiction that shows extraordinary originality and which "embodies the spirit of invention that characterises the genre at its best”. Jim Crace and David Peace are among this year's shortlisted authors. The winner will be announced on November 13.
24. The Telegraph Harvill Secker Crime Writing Competition - £5,000
Launched this year, the competition is open to anyone who has not had their work published before under a valid ISBN and who does not have an agent. Entrants are asked to submit the first 5,000 words of their crime novel, along with a detailed two-page synopsis of the rest of the book. The closing entry is midnight on November 30. In addition to a £5,000 book advance, the winner will have his or her book published by Harvill Secker and featured in the Telegraph. Click here for more information on how to enter and here for advice from leading crime writer Jo Nesbo.
Jo Nesbo, who offers advice to hopefuls entering the Telegraph Harvill Secker Crime Writing Competition
25. Waterstones Children’s Book Prize - £5,000
This is an annual award given to a work of children's literature and aims to "uncover hidden talent in children's writing". Since 2012, the prize has been divided into three: Picture Books, Fiction 5-12 and Teen. Each category winner receives £2,000 and an overall winner gets a further £3,000 (taking the total prize money to £5,000).
