Concept “Literary Prize”: problems of description

There have been analyzed the common various interpretations of the concepts of a lite­rary prize, a book prize, a literary contest, book rating in this article. Definitions of the adjectives “literary” and “book” are also considered. The key characteristics that give grounds for semantic delineation of outlined concepts are identified and analyzed. By studying the specifics and practices of the authoritative Ukrainian literary prizes, contests and rating, the author has found many of their interpretations. Therefore, it was necessary to determine what is similar and what is different in all these definitions. All of the analyzed material about literary and book prizes, competitions and ratings allows for­mulating a list of key characteristics of these concepts. In this way, the author has found that the prize, the contest, and the rating have the key characteristics in the system of their management. Using these characteristics we can identify which of these institutions are in front of us. As the results of the research, there have been shown the main differences between an award, a competition and rating in the literary field. Based on the generalization of the available approaches, more relevant and accurate definitions have been suggested that can be used to further explore the phenomenon. The basic terms and concepts related to the literary prize have been offered. And the terminological synonymy and inaccuracies of the terms have been eliminated. They can be helpful for publishers and scholars who will study them. The results of this research can be used as the foundation for further typology and classification of the literary and the book awards, contests and ratings. The need for further testing of the results of the study has been emphasized.

Keywords: literary prize, book prize, literary contest, book contest, book rating.

doi: 10.32403/0554-4866-2019-2-78-117-125