Literature

Literature

Azerbaijan to establish a state award in literature worth 50,000 manats

04 December 2025 12:48 (UTC +04:00)

The Azerbaijan Book Award will be announced in 2026, said Deputy Minister Farid Jafarov at a meeting of the leadership of the Ministry of Culture with young writers, APA reports.

Some details about the award have also been revealed. The award will be approved by a Presidential Decree.

One laureate will be determined. The winner will be presented with a cash prize of 50 thousand manats, a diploma, and a badge. The winning book will be printed in 3,000 copies, published in 2 countries, translated into 4 languages, and sold. The entire proceeds from the sale will be paid to the author.

The award will accept works in two categories: prose (novels and collections of stories) and poetry (poems and short stories).

Each publishing house can submit 2 works to the competition, and each literary organization can submit 1 work that it has completely published.

The evaluation of the works will be carried out in several stages. In the first stage, a long list of 10 works will be compiled by the Council of Experts in September. In November, a special commission will determine a shortlist of 5 works. The laureate of the Azerbaijan Book Award will be announced in the same month.

Each of the other 4 shortlisted candidates will be paid 2,000 manats.

The final stage of the award will be in the format of a show, broadcast live. Voting and the result will be shown on the screen. World-famous writers will participate in the ceremony.

It should be noted that the newly established Azerbaijan Book Award will replace the literature category of the State Prize awarded to scientists and cultural figures in the Republic of Azerbaijan.