The Neustadt Prize for Literature
A Prestigious Award for International Writers
The world's second most distinguished literary prize after the Nobel Prize in Literature is given by the University of Oklahoma.
The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a very prestigious award, often compared to the Nobel Prize in Literature in terms of scope and perhaps second to the Nobel in terms of academic status. (Farah, Nuruddin, Knots) Like the Nobel, the Neustadt Prize for Literature is awarded to novelists, playwrights, and poets from all around the world. It is awarded on the basis of an exemplary body of work, not for any individual piece of writing.
The Neustadt Prize History
The award that we now call the Neustadt Prize was first given in 1970 under the title, the Books Abroad International Prize for Literature. It was renamed as the Books Abroad / Neustadt Prize for Literature, and finally became the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1976. It was named for the Neustadt family from Ardmore, Oklahoma, and Dallas, Texas, whose substantial endowment continues to fund the prize.
The Neustadt is noteworthy for being the first prize of its type founded in the United States. The University of Oklahoma and its quarterly journal, World Literature Today, grant the prize once in every even-numbered year.
Selection Process
The selection process for the Neustadt recipient begins when a group of prominent international writers is selected by the Executive Director of World Literature Today. The Executive Director is the only repeating member and is chair of the jury; the other seats are different every two years. To be selected for the Neustadt jury is an honor in and of itself; revered writers like Ha Jin (2000), J. M. Coetzee (1994), Susan Sontag (1988), and Joseph Brodsky (1978) have been past jurors.
Each juror submits the name of one author for consideration six months before the group meets. The list of nominees is made public. To be eligible for the award, a writer must have a "represented body of work" (1998 Glendora Books Suppliment) that is published in one of the languages of the Neustadt jury: English, French, or Spanish. The jurors gather for a few days in February or March to decide the winner. Their decision is announced by the University of Oklahoma's President.
Award and Ceremony
Anaward ceromy takes place at the University of Oklahoma to celebrate the winner, and the author and their work are featured in a special issue of World Literatures Today. Recipients of the prize are presented with a silver eagle feather replica, a certificate, and the prize money (currently $50,000).
Recent Recipients
The 2008 winner of the Neustadt Prize is Patricia Grace, the New Zealand author of politically charged Maori literature.
The most recent prior recipients are:
2006 - Claribel Alegria of Nicaragua
2004 - Adam Zagajewski of Poland
2002 - Alvaro Mutis of Colombia
2000 - David Malouf of Australia
1998 - Nuruddin Farah of Somalia
1996 - Assia Djebar of Algeria
