What 2023 Lit Prizes Did You Follow & What Were Some Of Your Favorite Related Reads? (12/3/23)

[Marc]

Which, if any, 2023 lit prizes did you follow (i.e., pay attention to in terms of perusing long/short lists, seeing who won, etc.)? Did you do any reading related to any of these prizes, and if so, what were some of your favorite resulting reads?

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I follow the Pulitzer Prize winners and have had great success reading the winners (and even some of the nominees). Some 5-star Pulitzer winners I've read include:

FICTION
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

NON-FICTION
Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson
The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright

I gave four stars to these, although many of them were close to five-star ratings:
The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Way West by A.B. Guthrie Jr.
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
The Hours by Michael Cunningham

I also like to keep an eye on winners of the Booker, Hugo, Nebula, and Edgar awards although I still think Pulitzer winners most consistently hit the highest marks.

[Bill]

The only lit prizes I somewhat follow are weird/horror fiction-themed: the Shirley Jackson awards and Bram Stoker awards. And mostly for the single-author collections. I have a low opinion of most of the nominees, but always hope to find the rare collection and author that deserve more attention. (I'm also a mod for the Literary Horror group, and regularly turn to these award shortlists for monthly read ideas.)

Some recent memorable encounters:
J.A.W. McCarthy, Sometimes We're Cruel and Other Stories
Sean O'Brien, Quartier Perdu
Allison Wyss, Splendid Anatomies
Paula Ashe, We Are Here to Hurt Each Other
Patricia Lillie, The Cuckoo Girls

(I'm leaving out the icons like Brian Evenson, Kelly Link etc)