The Lannan Literary Awards are a series of awards and literary fellowships given out in various fields by the Lannan Foundation. Established in 1989, the awards are meant "to honor both established and emerging writers whose work is of exceptional quality", according to the foundation.[1] The foundation's awards are some of the most lucrative in the world: The 2006 awards for poetry, fiction and nonfiction each came with $150,000 making them some of the richest literary prizes in the world.
The awards reflect the philosophy governing the Lannan Foundation, a family foundation that describes itself as "dedicated to cultural freedom, diversity and creativity through projects which support exceptional contemporary artists and writers, as well as inspired Native activists in rural indigenous communities."[2]
Awards have gone both to literary stars, such as W.S. Merwin, and also to those more known as much for their politics as for their literary talents, such as Barbara Ehrenreich and Edward Said. The foundation also gives out a "Cultural Freedom Prize" for the stated purpose of recognizing "people whose extraordinary and courageous work celebrates the human right to freedom of imagination, inquiry, and expression."[3] Prize winners include Robert Fisk, Eduardo Galeano, Claudia Andujar, Mahmoud Darwish, Arundhati Roy, Helen Caldicott, and Cornel West.
The foundation does not accept applications for awards or fellowships. Candidates are suggested anonymously "by a network of writers, literary scholars, publishers, and editors", with the foundation's literary committee making the final determination.[1]
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