Awards

2

1997: Awarded the Nestlé Smarties Prize gold award for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

1998: Booksellers Association Author of the Year

1998: Awarded the Nestlé Smarties Prize gold award for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

1999: Awarded the Nestlé Smarties Prize gold award for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

1999: Booksellers Association Author of the Year

2001: J.K. Rowling received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) from His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, for services to children’s literature.

2003: On September 10th, J.K. Rowling accepted the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord at a ceremony in Oviedo, Spain.  The award is an annual prize, awarded by the Prince of Asturias (heir to the throne of Spain) to individuals, entities or organizations that make notable achievements in the sciences, humanities, and public affairs.

2004: WH Smith Fiction Award

2006: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince won the British Book of the Year award.

2007: J.K. Rowling was honored with a Blue Peter Gold Badge. The Blue Peter badge is a special award given to viewers, fans and individuals who have been recognized by the award-winning BBC children’s television programme of the same name.

2008: J.K. Rowling was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 from the British Book Awards (now known as The Galaxy National Book Awards).  The British Book Awards is a series of awards bestowed by an academy of members from the British book publishing industry.

2008: The Edinburgh Award

2008: James Joyce Award, University College Dublin

2008: South Bank Show Award for Outstanding Achievement

2009: British Book Awards Author of the Year

2010: J.K. Rowling was the first recipient of a new award, the Hans Christian Andersen Award. This prize is distinct from the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, as it recognizes works that are expected to have the same enduring appeal as the Danish master’s characters.

Why haven’t any of the Harry Potter books won the Newbery Award?

The Newbery Medal goes to a writer who is an American citizen or resident. The author of the Harry Potter books, J.K. Rowling, is Scottish. Many countries have national children’s book awards. The Harry Potter books are eligible for England’s Carnegie Medal, the closest award to our Newbery. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was a “Commended” Carnegie book, akin to a Newbery Honor book. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was on the Carnegie shortlist.