New Literary Prize

The Man Booker Prize has long been recognized as the cream of the crop for fiction prizes. But their status is now being challenged by The Literature Prize. The Literature Prize was announced this week and is aimed at recognizing writers with "finer tastes". 

The new literary prize is already facing accusations of snobbery and elitism. Many are speculating that the prize is intended as a snub against winners who have receieved the Man Booker Prize, which up until this point has been revered as an accolade for many writers.  In fact, the organizers behind The Literary Prize critized the Booker for putting readability above artistic expression. 

The organizers recently told a newspaper, “The prize will offer readers a selection of novels that are unsurpassed in their quality and ambition.”

To date, the new award will be the first English language prize to cross all genres, as there is no genre restriction on the prize.  The award will be given out on an annual basis and published in the United Kingdom. The first prize will be awareded in March 2014 and comes with a £40,000 award for the winner. The Booker offers a similar award of £50,000. Writers who publish books between January and December 2013 will be eligible for The Literature Prize.  

The award will take on the namesake of it's sponsor in February 2013, when the sponsor's identity will be revealed. Up until now the sponsor's identity has remained a secret. More information can be found about the new literary award at the website, http://www.theliteratureprize.com/>