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Awarded begining in1992, the Thumping Good Read was for books more "accessible" than the more "literary" choices of the Booker or Whitbread. "Genre fiction"--murder mysteries, espionage thrillers--was considered; American authors were eligible, as the award to Dominick Dunne illustrates. It also concentrated on less-established, younger authors. Judging was done by a panel of WH Smith customers. The value of the prize was £5000. The award was discontinued in 2004.
| 1992 | Robert Goddard, Into the Blue |
| 1993 | Robert Harris, Fatherland |
| 1994 | Dominick Dunne, A Season in Purgatory |
| 1995 | Thomas Eidson, St Agnes' Stand |
| 1996 | Andrew Klavan, True Crime |
| 1997 | David Baldacci, Absolute Power |
| 1998 | Douglas Kennedy, The Big Picture |
| 1999 | Lee Child, Die Trying |
| 2000 | Boris Starling, Storm |
| 2001 | Jeffery Deaver, The Empty Chair |
| 2002 | Mo Hayder, The Treatment |
| 2003 | Harlen Coben, Gone for Good |
New in 1993, the Cohen Prize is administered by the Arts Council. It is unusual in that the general public is invited to nominate prize winners, its total value of £52,500 makes it the most lucrative British literary prizes, and, of that sum, £10,000 is designed to permit the winner to use in encouraging writers and readers. Starting with the 2005 award, it also includes the Clarissa Luard Award, which allows the recipient to donate £12,500 to a project which encourages young people to read. Muriel Spark gave the £10,000 to the Edinburgh school on which she had based The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, to encourage pupils to develop their creativity. It is awarded every other year. The funds are provided by the David Cohen Family Charitable Trust and the Arts Council. It recognizes lifetime achievement.
| 1993 | V. S. Naipaul |
| 1995 | Harold Pinter |
| 1997 | Muriel Spark |
| 1999 | William Trevor |
| 2001 | Doris Lessing |
| 2003 | Beryl Bainbridge, Thom Gunn |
| 2005 | Michael Holroyd |
| 2007 | Derek Mahon |
Announced in 1994 and first awarded in 1996, the Orange Prize is unique in being limited to women authors. This restriction was a response to the announced "dissatisfaction of senior women in the book world--publishers, agents, literary editors, booksellers, journalists and writers--with the neglect of women writers shown by the major fiction prizes." Though only women are eligible, they can be women of any nationality so long as the novel is in English and has been published in the United Kingdom. A distinguished panel of judges makes the award which, at £30,000, is one of the most lucrative British literary prizes.
| 1996 | Helen Dunmore, A Spell of Winter |
| 1997 | Anne Michaels, Fugitive Pieces |
| 1998 | Carol Shields, Larry's Party |
| 1999 | Suzanne Berne, A Crime in the Neighbourhood |
| 2000 | Linda Grant, When I Lived in Modern Times |
| 2001 | Kate Grenville, The Idea of Perfection |
| 2002 | Ann Patchett, Bel Canto |
| 2003 | Valerie Martin, Property |
| 2004 | Andrea Levy, Small Island |
| 2005 | Lionel Shriver, We Need to Talk About Kevin |
| 2006 | Zadie Smith, On Beauty |
| 2007 | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun |
Follow this link for the Orange Prize.
The Forward Poetry Prizes are awarded annually in thhree categories: best poetry collection of the year, best first collection, and best single poem. The prizes for those categories are £10,000, £5000, and £1000 respectively. Eligible collections must have been published in the UK or the Republic of Ireland. The winners are selected by a panel of judges; publishers and literary editors may submit nominations.
| 1992 | Thom Gunn,
The Man With Night Sweats Simon Armitage, Kid Jackie Kay |
Best Collection Best First Collection Best Single Poem |
| 1993 | Carol Ann Duffy,
Mean Time Don Paterson, Nil Nil Vicki Feaver |
Best Collection Best First Collection Best Single Poem |
| 1994 | Alan Jenkins,
Harm Kwame Dawes, Progeny of Air Iain Crichton Smith |
Best Collection Best First Collection Best Single Poem |
| 1995 | Sean O'Brien,
Ghost Train Jane Duran, Breathe Now, Breathe Jenny Joseph |
Best Collection Best First Collection Best Single Poem |
| 1996 | John Fuller,
Stones and Fires Kate Clanchy, Slattern Kathleen Jamie |
Best Collection Best First Collection Best Single Poem |
| 1997 | Jamie McKendrick,
The Marble Fly Robin Robertson, A Painted Field Lavinia Greenlaw |
Best Collection Best First Collection Best Single Poem |
| 1998 | Ted Hughes,
Birthday Letters Paul Farley, The Boy from the Chemist is Here to See You Sheenagh Pugh |
Best Collection Best First Collection Best Single Poem |
| 1999 | Jo Shapcott,
My Life Asleep Nick Drake, The Man in the White Suit Robert Minhinnick, Twenty Five Laments for Iraq |
Best Collection Best First Collection Best Single Poem |
| 2000 | Michael Donaghy, Conjure Andrew Waterhouse, In Tessa Biddington, "The Death of Descartes" |
Best Collection Best First Collection Best Single Poem |
| 2001 | Sean O'Brien, Downriver John Stammers, Panoramic Lounge Bar Ian Duhig, The Lammas Hireling |
Best Collection Best First Collection Best Single Poem |
| 2002 | Peter Porter, Max Is
Missing Tom French, Touching the Bones Medhbh McGuckian, She Is In the Past, She Has His Grace |
Best Collection Best First Collection Best Single Poem |
| 2003 | Ciaran Carson, Breaking
News A. B. Jackson, Fire Engines Robert Minhinnick, The Fox in the Museum of Wales |
Best Collection Best First Collection Best Single Poem |
| 2004 | Kathleen Jamie, The
Tree House Leontia Flynn, These Days Daljit Nagra, "Look We Have Coming to Dover!" |
Best Collection Best First Collection Best Single Poem |
| 2005 |
David Harsent, Legion Helen Farish, Intimates Paul Farley, "Liverpool Disappears for a Billionth of a Second" |
Best Collection Best First Collection Best Single Poem |
| 2006 | Robin Robertson, Swithering Tishani Doshi, Countries of the Body Sean O'Brien, "Fantasia On a Theme of James Wright" |
Best Collection Best First Collection Best Single Poem |
| 2007 | Sean O'Brien, The Drowned Book Naljit Nagra, Look We Have Coming to Dover! Alice Oswald, "Dunt" |
Best Collection Best First Collection Best Single Poem |
Awarded to a writer, publisher, reviewer, collector or editor for a lifetime's contribution to the enjoyment of books. The award is sponsored by The Duke of Devonshire. The prize is worth £15,000. Since the Duke's death in 2004 there has been no award.
| 1995 | Patrick O'Brian |
| 1996 | Penelope Fitzgerald |
| 1997 | John Nicoll |
| 1998 | Norman Lewis and Richard Ollard (shared) |
| 1999 | Jane Gardam |
| 2000 | Charles Causley |
| 2001 | Michael Holroyd |
| 2002 | Michael Frayn |
| 2003 | Mark Amory and Hilary Spurling |
| 2004 | Beryl Bainbridge |
Awarded from 1987-1993 and conceived of as an anti-Booker Prize, the Sunday Express award was worth £20,000 for the winner and £1,000 for each of the five shortlisted authors, making it at that time the most lucrative fiction prize in Britain. Judging was by well-known novelists who chose the winner from a list of novels suggested by other authors and reviewers--not academics. Nominated books were "novels of real quality that would also appeal to a wide, intelligent readership." Founder Graham Lord believed that Booker-winning novels were often "precious, pretentious, self-regarding, immensely dull and often unreadable" and that the Booker Prize actually harmed modern fiction.
There was some overlap with the Booker lists, despite the intentionally different aims and scope. The first three winners were all on the shortlist for the Booker Prize.
| 1987 | Brian Moore, The Colour of Blood |
| 1988 | David Lodge, Nice Work |
| 1989 | Rose Tremain, Restoration |
| 1990 | J. M. Coetzee, Age of Iron |
| 1991 | Michael Frayn, A Landing on the Sun |
| 1992 | Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety |
| 1993 | William Boyd, The Blue Afternoon |
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