Prize Season · Beyond the Big Two
The Booker and the Women's Prize get the headlines. But some of the most exciting fiction in the world is being recognised by prizes most readers have never heard of. Scott covers them all.
Most readers follow one or two prizes and call it done. But if you only watch the Booker and the Women's Prize, you're missing translated fiction from dozens of languages, the best of Australian and Irish literature, and an entirely different conversation about what fiction can do and who it's for.
Scott follows these prizes for the same reason he follows any prize: to find books he would never have discovered otherwise. The International Booker alone has introduced him to writers working in Korean, Hindi, Bulgarian, Norwegian, and Kannada. The Stella and Miles Franklin are essential reading for anyone interested in Australian literature. The Carol Shields Prize is doing something genuinely different for North American women writers. And the Dublin Literary Award regularly selects books that have already won elsewhere — making it the best single list of globally important fiction published in any given year.
Below is a guide to each prize, what it's for, and where to find Scott's coverage.
Translated Fiction · Annual · UK
Awarded annually to the best single work of fiction translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland. The prize is split equally between the author and translator — a rare and important recognition that translation is a creative act in its own right. Scott has been predicting the longlist since 2023, and it's become one of his favourite prize seasons of the year.
Australian Fiction · Annual · Australia
The Australian equivalent of the Women's Prize — awarded annually to the best book by an Australian woman or non-binary author. Named after Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin, the author of My Brilliant Career. The Stella Prize is one of the best entry points into Australian literary fiction, and it regularly surfaces writers who deserve a much larger international audience.
Australian Fiction · Annual · Australia
Australia's oldest and most prestigious literary award, established by a bequest from Stella Miles Franklin herself. Awarded annually to the novel of the highest literary merit that presents Australian life in any of its phases. Unlike the Stella Prize, the Miles Franklin is open to all Australian authors regardless of gender — making it the broadest single measure of Australian literary achievement.
North American Fiction · Annual · US & Canada
Named after the Pulitzer Prize-winning Canadian-American author of The Stone Diaries, this prize was established in 2021 to celebrate women and non-binary authors from the US and Canada. Broader in scope than the Women's Prize — it includes short story collections and graphic novels — and it often recognises writers at earlier career stages, making it one of the best places to find the next breakout name.
International Fiction · Annual · Ireland
One of the most distinctive prizes in world literature — books are nominated by public libraries in cities across the globe, which means its longlist is effectively a curated selection of books that have already been loved by readers in dozens of countries. Open to any novel written in or translated into English. The result is a genuinely international list that reads like a highlights package of the previous year's global fiction.
Every video Scott has made covering the International Booker, Stella, Miles Franklin, Carol Shields, and Dublin Literary Award — in one playlist.
Can't see the playlist? Watch it on YouTube →
From the International Booker to the Miles Franklin — coverage as it happens.