Special Topics Essay: Awards
For this assignment, I decided to explore literary awards, their merit, their impact, and whether readers do (or should) care about them. While I might not consider this to completely fall under the category of a literature review essay, much of the content does revolve around the published opinions of others in the literary world, the points that they make, and how those opinions connect with one another.
One of the key points I touched on in this essay was the impact of awards on writers. While there is much contention around literary awards and who wins them, it is worth noting how impactful these awards can be for writers. Yes, an award can help an author's works be more popular, serving as an advertisement of sorts, but many awards also come with direct monetary prizes that can greatly impact writers' lives. Here's a brief excerpt:
Generally, writing is not a very lucrative profession. According to the Authors Guild’s 2023 Author Income Survey, “median author income for full-time authors from their books was $10,000 in 2022, and their total median earnings from their book and other author-related income combined was $20,000,” below the minimum wage in many states, and that is only considering the full-time workers; part time workers’ book-related incomes were much lower on average (Authors Guild, 2023, para. 5). The prize money from a literary award could be a substantial portion of an author’s income, especially if they are less well-known. Sparks argues this point; “until we can restructure society to support artists… these financial rewards can often make the difference between a writer sticking it out and leaving the profession they love for good,” (2023, para. 7).
In the essay, I also discussed the subjectivity behind literary awards and what one decides to qualify as "excellence", as well as some of the hurdles surrounding literary awards, including issues of diversity and issues around potential elitism; there is evidence to show that authors who have attended specific schools or programs are much more likely to be awarded.
All in all, there is a lot of controversy, varying opinions, and complaints surrounding literary awards. I do not believe there is one right answer to the question of whether literary awards are valuable in the face of these many different facets. Still, it is something to consider when purchasing for a library or choosing future reads; literary awards are a recognition of something and oftentimes are connected to excellent works, but they do not necessarily note the "best" books - literary value is subjective.
Ooh this is an awesome topic! I'd be interested in reading the whole paper, particularly to learn more about the subjectivity and political elitism involved. I tend to be kind of cynical about this type of thing in general, so I like that you have thoroughly addressed multiple viewpoints, showing both the positives and negatives.
ReplyDeleteFantastic summary!
ReplyDeleteMaddie,
ReplyDeleteThe point about awards serving as advertising resonated with me. When libraries have limited budgets, space, and time for reading book reviews, winning an award increases the chance of a book being purchased for the collection, which not only benefits the author financially but also exposes a whole community to their work. Not to mention, of course, the purchases that will be made by individuals.
When reviewing an award list for potential selections, I definitely choose to request that we purchase the winning book, but also take time to investigate the other nominees and consider requesting those as well.