Using Awards Lists As a RA Tool: The Nobel Prize Edition (AND IT'S HORROR)

This is part of my ongoing series on using Awards Lists as a RA tool. Click here for all posts in the series in reverse chronological order. Click here for the first post which outlines the details how to use awards lists as a RA tool.

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2024 is awarded to the South Korean author Han Kang, “for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.” In her oeuvre, Han Kang confronts historical traumas and invisible sets of rules and, in each of her works, exposes the fragility of human life. She has a unique awareness of the connections between body and soul, the living and the dead, and in her poetic and experimental style has become an innovator in contemporary prose. 

Press release

Biobibliography

Before we get to using the Nobel Prize as a RA Tool, we all need to stop for a moment and have some real talk about Han Kang and specifically, her most popular work here in America-- The Vegetarian. It is a masterpiece of modern Horror. They can write up her biography and leave the H word out, but we al know that her work is the perfect example of today's brand of intense, psychological Horror.

I can yell until I am blue in the face about the Horror Renaissance (I have done it many places but here is the latest version), but awards like this prove it. There is no more hiding the fact that Horror is not only an important genre, but vital to our storytelling traditions as humans. 

Of course, I have stood on my soapbox about this for years, but I am so filled with joy that it is becoming impossible for other to ignore as well.

Not only is The Vegetarian an often recommended book in many American libraries, but also We Do Not Part, coming in January 2025, was already on all the most anticipated lists. This is a Nobel Prize winner we already know is a good read for our patrons. 

But that is about this particular award winner. The reason I have these posts about using awards lists as a RA tool, is to write about how to use awards to help readers. In this case though, we have an award that does not include a long list, and I am sure some of you are asking why I posted this under that series.

Great question. Thanks for asking. 

It is because the list of past winners is a wonderful resource to dig into, especially for fans of world literature. 

You could make an excellent display of past winners and readalikes for them. There is a great landing page of the Literature Prize here. You can also make online lists where you highlight each author, their work, and other things to try. 

And because the list is international, you can use it outside of the time when the prize is awarded. Make lists and displays that focus on the author's country of origin and use it as a springboard to offer more reading options.

Or simply use the announcement of the Nobel Prize as a chance to put up a display of books in translation, include Kang's books, and add an interactive element asking your patrons their favorite books in translation. (remember to go here to learn how to use conversation starters to fill your displays)

In this case, it is easy because South Korean and korean American authors are very popular here, especially those who write Psychological Suspense and Horror. Click here to get started.

And long live HORROR!