AKO Literatuurprijs
Encyclopedia
The AKO Literatuurprijs is the best known prize for literature in the Netherlands
. It is awarded to authors writing in Dutch
and highly coveted for its recognition as well as the award amount of 50,000. The ceremony is televised live each year. The prize was conceived in 1986 and inaugurated the following year with the aim to promote literature and increase the public's interest in books. The abbreviation AKO stands for its founder and sponsor, a chain of bookstores and newsstands.
in 1999, but the financing of the prize reverted to AKO before the 2000 award, so the name Fortis Literatuurprijs was never formally implemented.
The nominations follow the system of a longlist, tiplijst, of 25 preliminary nominees and a shortlist, toplijst, of 6 finalists. In order to be considered for a given year, a book needs to be published before the first of July of the year in which the prize is to be awarded and after the 30th of June of the preceding year. The winner is usually announced later in the fall.
, the neighboring Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. A public opinion poll by TNS
NIPO ranked the AKO Literatuurprijs as the most recognized of the Netherlands' five literary awards. There was some controversy about the tiplijst of nominees in 2005, the jury was accused of having preselected the winner. A popular tabloid news website (GeenStijl
) insisted that the published preliminary nomination list was merely a ruse to improve book sales and claimed to know that Tommy Wieringa
had already been scheduled as the recipient. The prediction failed, the AKO Literatuurprijs went to Jan Siebelink
in 2005.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. It is awarded to authors writing in Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
and highly coveted for its recognition as well as the award amount of 50,000. The ceremony is televised live each year. The prize was conceived in 1986 and inaugurated the following year with the aim to promote literature and increase the public's interest in books. The abbreviation AKO stands for its founder and sponsor, a chain of bookstores and newsstands.
Name
The name of the prize has not been constant, reflecting the main sponsors. It was first prefixed with AKO after its sponsor-founder, the Amsterdamsche Kiosk Onderneming, a chain of over 100 bookstores and newsstands in the Netherlands. From 1997 through 1999 it was sponsored by Belgium's Generale Bank and was named accordingly – Generale Bank Literatuurprijs. The bank was absorbed and the sponsorship presumably assumed by Fortis BankBNP Paribas Fortis
BNP Paribas Fortis is the commercial name of Fortis Bank S.A./N.V., an international bank with its focus in Belgium since the purchase of 75% of the shares of the bank by BNP Paribas. It was formerly, together with Fortis Bank Nederland, the banking arm of Fortis...
in 1999, but the financing of the prize reverted to AKO before the 2000 award, so the name Fortis Literatuurprijs was never formally implemented.
Selection procedure
The AKO Literatuurprijs is awarded by a 5-member jury of Dutch and Belgian book critics, some of whom have served on it repeatedly. The 6th person, the head of the jury, changes every year and is usually a public figure, often a politician.The nominations follow the system of a longlist, tiplijst, of 25 preliminary nominees and a shortlist, toplijst, of 6 finalists. In order to be considered for a given year, a book needs to be published before the first of July of the year in which the prize is to be awarded and after the 30th of June of the preceding year. The winner is usually announced later in the fall.
Context
The recipients of the prize have largely come from the Netherlands or from FlandersFlanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, the neighboring Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. A public opinion poll by TNS
Taylor Nelson Sofres
Taylor Nelson Sofres is a leading market research and market information group. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, the firm was acquired by WPP Group in October 2008 for 1.6 billion pounds.-History:...
NIPO ranked the AKO Literatuurprijs as the most recognized of the Netherlands' five literary awards. There was some controversy about the tiplijst of nominees in 2005, the jury was accused of having preselected the winner. A popular tabloid news website (GeenStijl
GeenStijl.nl
GeenStijl.nl is a Dutch blog founded on April 10, 2003. The logos it uses on its website are a female silhouette using a chainsaw and a crown within a circle, both in a pinkish colour, although the crown in a circle is green with a black edge when it is embedded in online videos...
) insisted that the published preliminary nomination list was merely a ruse to improve book sales and claimed to know that Tommy Wieringa
Tommy Wieringa
Tommy Wieringa is a Dutch writer. He received the Ferdinand Bordewijk Prijs in 2006 for his novel Joe Speedboot.-Reference:* at the Digital library for Dutch literature...
had already been scheduled as the recipient. The prediction failed, the AKO Literatuurprijs went to Jan Siebelink
Jan Siebelink
Jan Siebelink is a Dutch author. In 2005, he wrote the novel Knielen op een bed violen that sold over 500,000 copies. In 1991, he won the Ferdinand Bordewijk Prijs for De overkant van de rivier....
in 2005.
Winners
- 1987 - J. BernlefJ. BernlefJ. Bernlef is a Dutch writer, lyricist, novelist and translator. He made his literary debut with Kokkels in 1960. He became known to a larger public with his novel Hersenschimmen from 1984, which treated the theme of dementia. The book is basis for a film from 1987, and a theatre play from 2006...
- Publiek geheim - 1988 - Geerten Meijsing - Veranderlijk en wisselvallig
- 1989 - Brigitte Raskin - Het koekoeksjong
- 1990 - Louis FerronLouis FerronLouis Ferron was a Dutch novelist and poet.-Biography:Louis Ferron was born in Leiden out of an adulterous relationship between a married German soldier and a waitress from Haarlem named Ferron...
- Karelische nachten - 1991 - P. F. Thomése - Zuidland
- 1992 - Margriet de Moor - Eerst grijs dan wit dan blauw
- 1993 - Marcel MöringMarcel MöringMarcel Möring is a Dutch writer. He received the Ferdinand Bordewijk Prijs in 2007 for his novel Dis.-Reference:* at the Digital library for Dutch literature...
- Het grote verlangen - 1994 - Gerhard Durlacher - Quarantine
- 1995 - Connie PalmenConnie PalmenAldegonda Petronella Huberta Maria "Connie" Palmen is a Dutch author.Palmen debuted with the novel De wetten , published in the USA as The Laws , translated by Richard Huijing...
- De vriendschap - 1996 - Frits van OostromFrits van OostromFrits van Oostrom , born in Utrecht, Netherlands, is University Professor for the Humanities at the Utrecht University. In 1999 he was a visiting Professor at Harvard for the Erasmus Chair. From September 2004 to June 2005, he was a fellow of the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study . He was...
- Maerlants wereld - 1997 - A. F. Th. van der HeijdenA. F. Th. van der HeijdenA. F. Th. van der Heijden , is a Dutch writer.Van der Heijden initially studied psychology and philosophy in Nijmegen but after moving to Amsterdam he turned to writing...
- Onder het plaveisel het moeras - 1998 - Herman Franke - De verbeelding
- 1999 - Karel Glastra van Loon - De passievrucht
- 2000 - Arnon GrunbergArnon GrünbergArnon Yasha Yves Grunberg is a Dutch writer. Some of his books were written using the heteronym Marek van der Jagt....
-Fantoompijn - 2001 - Jeroen BrouwersJeroen BrouwersJeroen Godfried Marie Brouwers is a Dutch journalist and writer. From 1964 to 1976 Brouwers worked as an editor at Manteau publishers in Brussels...
- Geheime kamers - 2002 - Allard Schröder - De hydrograaf
- 2003 - Dik van der Meulen - Multatuli: Leven en werk van Eduard Douwes Dekker
- 2004 - Arnon GrunbergArnon GrünbergArnon Yasha Yves Grunberg is a Dutch writer. Some of his books were written using the heteronym Marek van der Jagt....
- The Asylum SeekerThe Asylum SeekerThe Asylum Seeker is a novel by Dutch author Arnon Grunberg. Published in 2003, the novel won the AKO Literatuurprijs and Ferdinand Bordewijk Prijs in 2004, and has been reprinted more than fourteen times...
(De asielzoeker) - 2005 - Jan SiebelinkJan SiebelinkJan Siebelink is a Dutch author. In 2005, he wrote the novel Knielen op een bed violen that sold over 500,000 copies. In 1991, he won the Ferdinand Bordewijk Prijs for De overkant van de rivier....
- Knielen op een bed violen - 2006 - Hans Münstermann - De Bekoring
- 2007 - A. F. Th. van der HeijdenA. F. Th. van der HeijdenA. F. Th. van der Heijden , is a Dutch writer.Van der Heijden initially studied psychology and philosophy in Nijmegen but after moving to Amsterdam he turned to writing...
- Het schervengericht - 2008 - Doeschka MeijsingDoeschka MeijsingMaria Johanna Meijsing is a Dutch novelist. She won the AKO Literatuurprijs in 2000 for her novel De tweede man, and in 2008 the Ferdinand Bordewijk Prijs for her novel Over de liefde.-Works:...
- Over de liefde - 2009 - Erwin MortierErwin MortierErwin Mortier is a Belgian author, originally writing in Dutch. He lived his youth in a village near Ghent, later moving to the city itself....
- Godenslaap - 2010 - David Van Reybrouck - Congo, een geschiedenis
- 2011 - Marente de Moor - De Nederlandse maagd