‘Alleen vette prijzen doen ertoe’

Abstract

Abstract Literary prizes have become indispensable to the literary field and have developed into one of its most high-profiled phenomena. They promote competing forms of consecration; intersect in the dynamic relationships of actors and institutions; and contribute to defining the parameters of literature and literary culture. This article investigates the relationship between literary awards and literary criticism in the Netherlands from both a quantitative and qualitative perspective, whilst drawing on field-theoretical approaches to literature. As literary critics consecrate some authors but not others, so they determine to a large extent which literary prizes matter and which do not. This article charts the rise of literary awards on the Dutch literary field, and the critical attention these prizes have received. It researches which prizes are consecrated (and why), and in which ways literary criticism has written about those awards over the course of years.