Not every enjoyable reading experience gets exceptional acclaim, but one reader’s favorite book may well be many other readers’. Here are the winners of half a dozen high-profile literature prizes from the past decade, listed by award cycle. If you haven’t read one of these titles, it’s sure to be available in any bookstore or library.
PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
Established in 1981, this is an award for a novel or a volume of short stories by an American writer. It is one of the year’s earliest prizes, awarded in March.
2011 - The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg by Deborah Eisenberg
2010 - War Dances by Sherman Alexie
2009 - Netherland by Joseph O’Neill
2008 - The Great Man by Kate Christensen
2007 - Every Man by Philip Roth
2006 - The March by E. L. Doctorow
2005 - War Trash by Ha Jin
2004 - The Early Stories by John Updike
2003 - The Caprices by Sabina Murray
2002 - Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
2001 - The Human Stain by Philip Roth
2000 - Waiting by Ha Jin
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
This award started out in 1918 as the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel. It is given for a work of American fiction and is awarded every April.
2011 - A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
2010 - Tinkers by Paul Harding
2009 - Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
2008 - The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
2007 - The Road by Cormac McCarthy
2006 - March by Geraldine Brooks
2005 - Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
2004 - The Known World by Edward P. Jones
2003 - Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
2002 - Empire Falls by Richard Russo
2001 - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
2000 - Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book
First given in 1987, this award recognizes writers from four world regions: Africa, the Caribbean and Canada, South Asia and Europe, and Southeast Asia and the Pacific. It is given every May for a novel or short-story collection written in English.
2011 - The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna - Sierra Leone
2010 - Solo by Rana Dasgupta - India/UK
2009 - The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas - Australia
2008 - The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill - Canada
2007 - Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones - New Zealand
2006 - The Secret River by Kate Grenville - Australia
2005 - Small Island by Andrea Levy - UK
2004 - A Distant Shore by Caryl Phillips - UK
2003 - The Polished Hoe by Austin Clarke - Canada
2002 - Gould’s Book of Fish by Richard Flanagan - Australia
2001 - True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey - Australia
2000 - Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee - South Africa
Orange Prize for Fiction
This international prize for women was launched in 1996 out of concern over the underrepresentation of female novelists on the big-league lists. It is awarded every June.
2011 - The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht
2010 - The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
2009 - Home by Marilynne Robinson
2008 - The Road Home by Rose Tremain
2007 - Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
2006 - On Beauty by Zadie Smith
2005 - We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver
2004 - Small Island by Andrea Levy
2003 - Property by Valerie Martin
2002 - Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
2001 - The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville
2000 - When I Lived in Modern Times by Kinda Grant
National Book Award for Fiction
Since 1950, this is one of four awards for American writers bestowed annually by the National Book Foundation. The finalist is announced every October.
2010 - Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon
2009 - Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
2008 - Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen
2007 - Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
2006 - The Echo Maker by Richard Powers
2005 - Europe Central by William Vollmann
2004 - The News from Paraguay by Lily Tuck
2003 - The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
2002 - Three Junes by Julia Glass
2001 - The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
2000 - In America by Susan Sontag
Man Booker Prize for Fiction
The Booker, awarded internationally since 1969, is probably the year’s most anticipated literary award. The 12-book longlist is announced in July and culled by half for the September shortlist. The winner is chosen in October.
2010 - The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson
2009 - Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
2008 - The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
2007 - The Gathering by Anne Enright
2006 - The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
2005 - The Sea by John Banville
2004 - The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
2003 - Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre
2002 - Life of Pi by Yann Martel
2001 - True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
2000 - The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
