Neustadt International Prize for Literature · 2024 · Winner
Neustadt International Prize for Literature
2024 Winner
Complete History
About the Neustadt International Prize for Literature
The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world and the first international prize of its scope to be administered in the United States. Awarded biennially since 1970 by the University of Oklahoma and its journal World Literature Today (formerly Books Abroad), the prize honors writers for their entire body of work in any literary genre — fiction, poetry, or drama. The prize carries $50,000 and a silver eagle feather replica. It has long been recognized as an indicator of Nobel Prize consideration: many Neustadt laureates have subsequently won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Frequently Asked Questions
- The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a biennial award given by the University of Oklahoma and World Literature Today to a living writer for their body of work in any genre. It is considered one of the most prestigious international literary prizes.
- The prize is awarded every two years (biennially), typically in even-numbered years.
- The Neustadt Prize carries a cash award of $50,000 and a silver replica of an eagle feather, the symbol of the prize.
- The Neustadt Prize has a strong track record as a precursor to the Nobel Prize in Literature. Past Neustadt laureates who later won the Nobel include Gabriel García Márquez, Czesław Miłosz, and others.
- Unlike most literary prizes, the Neustadt is open to fiction, poetry, and drama — recognizing a writer's entire body of work regardless of genre.
- Each year an international jury is assembled, with each member nominating one writer. The jury then deliberates and selects a winner from among all nominees.
- The prize is endowed by the Neustadt family and administered by the University of Oklahoma through World Literature Today, one of the oldest and most respected international literary journals in the United States.
- Yes. The prize is explicitly international in scope, with past laureates coming from Albania, Croatia, Mozambique, Mauritius, Haiti, Senegal, and many other countries.
- World Literature Today (formerly Books Abroad) is a literary journal published by the University of Oklahoma since 1927. It focuses on international literature and is one of the most important journals for the promotion of world literature in the United States.
- Yes. The Neustadt Prize family includes the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature, awarded biennially in odd-numbered years for outstanding achievement in children's and young adult literature.