Booker remains world's most visible literary prize, research shows

Nielsen has shared research about attitudes to literary prizes from almost 1,000 respondents showing the Booker Prize remains the most important overall while the domestic impact of awards is increasingly important to writers.

During summer 2020, Nielsen Book was commissioned by an unnamed international book prize to undertake an industry-wide survey to explore the perception of various book awards across publishing, bookselling, writing, media and the academic sectors. The survey was repeated in summer 2021 to gauge any changes and was supported by The International Publishers Association, The Frankfurt Book Fair, The London Book Fair and Publishing Perspectives.  

There were a total of 954 respondents in total in 2021, of which a third were in the UK/Ireland, while one in six were in each of the US, German-speaking countries and the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region (most commonly Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE). The remaining one in five were in the rest of the world, split between other European countries, Asia, the Americas, Australasia and Sub-Saharan Africa. 

The research explored respondents’ recognition of book awards and, as in 2020, most respondents in 2021 were aware of the Booker (95%) and Pulitzer prizes (93%). In the UK, the Costa, British Book Awards and Women’s Prize for Fiction were subsequently the best known. The American-based National Book Awards and Newbery prizes were also known to most in the US while in Germany the Deutscher Buchpreis was also widely known in the relevant territories. The Prix Goncourt was fairly widely known outside the MENA region, and saw awareness rise overall, boosted by the larger number of German-speaking respondents in 2021.  

As in 2020, The Booker received the highest importance rating of the awards tested overall and among UK/Ireland respondents in 2021, but continued to rank behind the Pulitzer, National Book Awards & Newbery among US respondents. It also stood behind the Deutscher Buchpreis and Pulitzer in German-speaking countries.  

The CWA Daggers, Carnegie/Kate Greenaway & Baillie Gifford awards were most commonly mentioned by UK and Ireland participants when asked to name up to three key book prizes for their territory other than those specifically tested in the survey. American respondents increasingly mentioned the National Book Critics Circle and PEN Awards (up to 23% and 20% respectively compared to 12% for each in 2020). 

The Irish Book Awards, National Book Awards & Deutscher Buchpreis were rated best for publisher and winner support in the UK and Ireland, US and Germany respectively. Individuals from the MENA region showed the most positive opinions of the support offered by international prizes to help promote prize-winners. 

The research showed that sales remained the most important factor for prizes. “The impact of the prize on sales in their own country or region remained the factor that would most encourage publishers to submit books for an international book prize in 2021, with a widening gap ahead of media and consumer interest in the prize in their territories and promotional support from the prize organisation,” Nielsen Book said. “The simplicity of the submission process, funding for translations and prize money were also more important in 2021 than 2020.” 

While financial support remained the most critical issue for writers, domestic status proved more important than previously. “Prize money remained the factor that would most enthuse authors about being nominated for an international book prize in 2021, ahead of international and (increasingly) domestic status,” the research reads. “More generally, international impact and interest and translation funding appeared less of a priority to authors in 2021 than 2020, with more focus on domestic impact and interest.” 

Nielsen said that prize money remained the factor that would most enthuse authors about being nominated for an international book prize in 2021 “ahead of international and increasingly domestic status”. The researchers added: “More generally, international impact and interest and translation funding appeared less of a priority to authors in 2021 than 2020, with more focus on domestic impact and interest.” 

Media profile was the leading area for prizes to focus on among participants from the UK and Ireland, the US and German-speaking respondents in 2021. An impartial and independent judging process remained top for MENA respondents though they were increasingly citing the need for social media exposure. American respondents increasingly sought a focus on ease and cost of submissions.