Local book prizes buck foreign sales trend

Local book prizes buck foreign sales trend

By Sori Siregar

JAKARTA (JP): "Literary awards don't encourage writers to
write but they do encourage people to read." That was the
statement Graham Swift made to reporters after winning the Booker
Prize in London last October.

Swift's works have been nominated twice for the prestigious
Booker Prize. One of them, Last Order, won in 1996. But Swift's
statement was not exaggerated or quixotic. And this proved right
as far as the Booker Prize awarded for books was concerned. The
prize winning books had different sales figures before they were
shortlisted, when they were being shortlisted and after they won
the prize.

Besides, as Martyn Goff, who edited and introduced the
collection of writing by Booker Prize past winners in "Prize
Writing", said, it was not only by the number of additional
copies sold that the Booker Prize affected winners but also by
establishing worldwide reputations.

Fiction and non-fiction have been around in Europe for ages.
European writing tradition was established profoundly hundreds of
years ago. It is worth noting that the publication of books there
has nothing directly to do with prizes awarded by committees such
as the Booker committee, even though it is important to emphasize
that prize winning books may sell at unprecedented levels.

This may also apply to fiction writers from Commonwealth
countries whose publishers have submitted their books to the
Booker committee, and those from developing countries like
Indonesia. But, generally, people don't write books to win
prizes.

Despite their knowledge that if they are rewarded, their
public stature would rise in the eyes of the public and their
book sales would increase, serious fiction writers put everything
on paper they think necessary to enrich the hearts and minds of
others. It sounds idealistic or weird. Certainly, it does not
concern popular fiction writers who eagerly accumulate money in
one bound or want to turn into overnight literary stars.

But there is no doubt that literary prizes are significant.
They should not be seen as encouragement for writers to write,
but it is undeniable that it will help writers find an audience.
A literary prize can also act as a signpost for readers
indicating more worthwhile books and raise the profile of serious
fiction.

In England, writers and readers have become familiar with the
Booker Prize, while in the United States the Pulitzer Prize, the
National Book Award and the American Book Award are awarded to
accomplished writers yearly. For a similar purpose, the privately
sponsored Hadiah Yayasan Buku Utama and the government-sponsored
Anugerah Seni are awarded to Indonesian literary works each year.
Thus far, only the two awards have been institutionalized.

On occasion

Previously, occasional prizes were awarded to local writers.
They are called occasional prizes because they are not presented
regularly to selected writers. Hadiah Sastra Yamin or the Yamin
Literary Award and Hadiah Sastra Badan Musyawarah Kebudayaan
Nasional (BKMN) or the National Consultative Body's Literary
Award could be categorized as occasional prizes.

Similar prizes are also contributed today by a number of
weeklies and magazines through competitions for short-story
writers, poets and series writers.

Therefore the news about the Chairil Anwar Award's
reinstatement by the Arts Council of Jakarta must be welcomed.
Since Mochtar Lubis received this award a few years ago, no one
has heard about the prize although there are writers who would be
eligible to bag it. Competitions for novels and plays are no
longer included in the Arts Council's program.

Which of these prizes is most respected is a question which
need not be asked. Time will tell. The most important thing is
that by giving the prizes, greater attention will be paid to the
achievement of Indonesian fiction writers. This could be
supported by the press which might expose it widely throughout
the country as was the case of Hadiah Sastra Yamin and Hadiah
Sastra BMKN in the 1960s.

Rocketing sales of Booker Prize winning books and the
circulation hike of Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award
winners in the United States are common in the two countries;
unlike the sales of local prize winning books in Indonesia.

Local prizes awarded to local writers do not automatically
increase their book sales. Most readers still look for popular
fiction which is readily found in bookstores. This might indicate
that serious fiction in our country remains destitute and
unheeded.