Keeping the wolf from the door

D W Wilson at the BBC National Short Story Award 2011 ceremony

From prize money to a profile boost, Booktrust's Hannah Davies reveals the rewards authors reap from winning literary prizes

The recent announcement from Orange that 2012 will mark the end of its 17-year sponsorship of the Orange Prize for Fiction has set off another round of the long-standing debate about whether the literary prize for fiction written by women is actually needed.

The Evening Standard's Sebastian Shakespeare would like to see it shelved, arguing that 'it is an insult to women' and that 'we need fewer prizes'. But, one of the strongest defenses of the Prize has come from Linda Grant, who won it back in 2000. Far from insulted, Grant demonstrates the value the £30,000 Prize holds to the people it is intended to support: authors. Writing in the Guardian, she explains: 'What winning means is money: not money to buy a diamond ring, but to be able to push aside everything else that interferes with writing books. To give up the day job, say no to journalism or teaching; to see your advance for the next book increase, your foreign rights sales grow; to be translated into other languages'.

In other words, it helps 'keep the wolf from the door', as Kevin Barry put it after he scooped this year's £30,000 Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award for his story 'Beer Trip to Llandudno'.

This Award and the Orange Prize are just two of the literary prizes managed by Booktrust. Along with providing access points for readers to engage with different types of books, Booktrust's aim in running prizes and awards is to reward authors and illustrators for their endeavours, celebrate their work as an integral part of the UK's arts and culture landscape, and draw attention to under-represented genres and forms including foreign fiction and the short story.

The prize money is the most tangible reward, but it is not the only one. For authors, who often work for long hours in isolation, the confidence boost that comes from winning an award is undeniable. Gareth P Jones, the winner of this year's Blue Peter Book of the Year for his book The Considine Curse explains the feeling: 'Getting a positive response to a book from just one person feels like a pat on the back, so winning an award like this is like being whacked between the shoulder blades by an entire army... in a good way'.

And this new-found confidence often extends to the reading public. In a crowded market place, the tagline of 'winner' on a book can be a key motivating factor in readers' purchasing decisions. The recommendation from an expert judging panel and/or the endorsement by a respected brand assures buyers of the quality of the book, which is something of particular importance for those choosing titles as gifts for children. This aspect was not lost on Jones following his win: 'With so many books being published, it's extremely difficult to publicise books if you're not pre-famous, so winning a national book prize is very exciting,' he said.

And he was right to be excited. According to figures from Nielsen BookScan, following the announcement of The Considine Curse as the winner in March 2012, the paperback saw a month-on-month sales uplift of 373% by volume, equating to a £3,300 increase by value. The three other Blue Peter shortlisted titles also saw month-on-month sales increases of approximately 100% following the shortlist announcement in December 2011, showing that the benefits of prizes are not restricted to the winner.

Over the last year, all of the shortlisted and winning authors I have worked with at Booktrust have welcomed the inevitable profile boost that prizes bring. Whether they are just starting out or they have already made it, whether they relish the resulting media coverage and festival invites or loathe it, prizes provide them with the opportunity to continue doing what they love most: writing.

A version of this article appeared in the Society of Young Publishers' IN:Print magazine