## Metadata - Author: [[Maris Kreizman]] - Full Title: In Defense of Literary Awards (and Longlists, and Shortlists) - Category: #articles - URL: https://lithub.com/in-defense-of-literary-awards-and-longlists-and-shortlists/ - Saved: 2026-10-04 ## Highlights > When people ask me what gives me hope in these bleak times I have a standard answer I like to give: “Despite whatever’s happening in the world and despite whatever is specifically happening in publishing and media, the books keep coming.” It’s true. ^h27564655 > I understand cynicism about awards in general, and I get why a casual reader would glance at the longlists and only recognize one or two names and so then swiftly move on. There are already too many books. Who wants to take a chance on a title they haven’t even heard of when free time is so limited as it is? And what’s so bad about wanting to read only what your friends are reading? ^h27564656