- Neustadt International Prize for Literature
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The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a biennial award for literature sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and its international literary publication, World Literature Today. It is widely considered to be the most prestigious international literary prize after the Nobel Prize in Literature.[1] Like the Nobel, it is awarded not for any one work, but for an entire body of work.
Contents
History
The Neustadt International Prize for Literature was established as the Books Abroad International Prize for Literature in 1969 by Ivar Ivask, editor of Books Abroad. It was subsequently renamed the Books Abroad/Neustadt Prize, and the award assumed its present name in 1976. It is the first international literary award of this scope to originate in the United States and is one of the very few international prizes for which poets, novelists, and playwrights are equally eligible.[2]
Award
The Prize itself presently consists of a silver eagle feather, a certificate and $50,000 USD. The endowment from Walter and Doris Neustadt of Ardmore, Oklahoma ensures the award in perpetuity.[3]
The charter of the Neustadt Prize stipulates that the award be given in recognition of outstanding achievement in poetry, fiction, or drama and that it be conferred solely on the basis of literary merit. Any living author writing in any language is eligible, provided only that at least a representative portion of his or her work is available in English, the language used during the jury deliberations. The prize may serve to crown a lifetime's achievement or to direct attention to an important body of work that is still developing. The prize is not open to application.[4]
Selection
Candidates are selected by a jury of at least seven members. Selection is not limited by geographic area, language or genre.
The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is the only international literary award of this scope to originate in the United States. It is also one of few international prizes for which poets, novelists and playwrights alike are equally eligible.
List of Neustadt Laureates
Year Name Country Language(s) 1970 Giuseppe Ungaretti 
ItalyItalian 1972 Gabriel García Márquez 
ColombiaSpanish 1974 Francis Ponge 
FranceFrench 1976 Elizabeth Bishop 
United StatesEnglish 1978 Czesław Miłosz 
PolandPolish 1980 Josef Škvorecký 
Czechoslovakia/
CanadaCzech 1982 Octavio Paz 
MexicoSpanish 1984 Paavo Haavikko 
FinlandFinnish 1986 Max Frisch 
SwitzerlandGerman 1988 Raja Rao 
India/ United StatesEnglish 1990 Tomas Tranströmer 
SwedenSwedish 1992 João Cabral de Melo Neto 
BrazilPortuguese 1994 Edward Kamau Brathwaite 
BarbadosEnglish 1996 Assia Djebar 
AlgeriaFrench 1998 Nuruddin Farah 
SomaliaEnglish 2000 David Malouf 
AustraliaEnglish 2002 Álvaro Mutis ColombiaSpanish 2004 Adam Zagajewski PolandPolish 2006 Claribel Alegría 
Nicaragua/
El SalvadorSpanish 2008 Patricia Grace 
New ZealandEnglish 2010 Duo Duo 
ChinaChinese 2012 Rohinton Mistry India/ CanadaEnglish Notes
External links
Categories:- University of Oklahoma
- Awards established in 1969
- American literary awards
- International literary awards
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