Hawthornden Prize

Hawthornden Prize
Awarded forFor "imaginative literature" (poetry or prose) by British, Irish or British-based authors.
First awarded1919; 105 years ago (1919)
Websitewww.hawthornden.org/hawthornden-prize

The Hawthornden Prize, one of Britain's oldest literary awards, was established in 1919 by Alice Warrender.[1] This £15,000 prize is awarded annually to a British, Irish or British-based author for a work of "imaginative literature" – including poetry, novels, history, biography and creative non-fiction – published in the previous calendar year. The prize is for a book in English, not for a translation. Previous winners of the prize are excluded from the shortlist. Unlike other major literary awards, the Hawthornden Prize does not solicit submissions.[2] There have been several gap years without a recipient (1945–57, 1959, 1966, 1971–73, and 1984–87).[3]

The Hawthornden Prize, along with the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes, are Britain's oldest literary awards.[4] It offered £100 in 1936, in 1995 was worth £2,000 and by 2017 had increased to £15,000.[5][6][7] It was formerly administered by the Hawthornden Trust set up by Warrender,[8] and sponsored by the private trust of Drue Heinz.[7] It is currently administered by Hawthornden Foundation, established by Drue Heinz.[2]

  1. ^ "The Hawthornden Prize". The Glasgow Herald. 1 June 1961. p. 23. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Hawthornden Prize". Hawthornden Foundation. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  3. ^ Moseley, Merritt. "The Hawthornden Prize". University of North Carolina. Archived from the original on 9 April 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  4. ^ Shaffer, Brian W. (2008). A Companion to the British and Irish Novel 1945 – 2000. John Wiley & Sons. p. 164. ISBN 978-1-4051-5616-5. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  5. ^ "Waugh's 'Campion' and Campion Hall". Catholic Herald. 26 June 1936. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Merriam-Webster. January 1995. p. 523. ISBN 978-0-87779-042-6. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Graham Swift's Mothering Sunday wins fiction's most secretive prize". The Guardian. 14 July 2017. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  8. ^ "Miss A H Warrender Trust for Hawthornden Prize". Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.