Literary debut prizes play an important role in determining which books and authors are considered “promising” or “literary valuable”. But how do these prizes actually work, and what views on literature underlie them? This thesis examines how Dutch debut prizes contribute to the attribution of literary value. Based on five debutant prizes, the research shows that prizes apply different criteria and interests. Some awards derive their authority mainly from tradition and cultural status, others from visibility, public engagement and commercial reach. These differences make it clear that there is no single fixed standard for literary quality. An analysis of jury reports for the ANV Debutant Award shows that juries particularly value clearly written novels with psychological depth and a clear structure. Experimental forms or genre-transcending books are less likely to succeed. In addition, juries assess not only the book, but also the authorship: who the writer is and how they fit into the literary field. It is striking that professional critics and ordinary readers largely use the same assessment criteria. This suggests that ideas about literary quality are widely shared, even if the tone in which they are expressed differs. The thesis concludes that debutant prizes are not neutral recognitions, but active players that determine which voices and forms in literature are visible and appreciated.
Anne Oerlemans (Tilburg, 1993) studied General Cultural Studies and completed her Master's degree in Literary Business at Radboud University Nijmegen in 2016. Since 2016, she has been working at Koninklijke Boom uitgevers, where she held positions as publishing assistant and deputy publisher at Boom Juridisch and, since 2021, as publisher. In this role, she is involved in acquisition, fund development, editing and strategic innovation in the field of digitisation, metadata and artificial intelligence. In 2020, Oerlemans started as an external PhD candidate at the SCARAB research group (Radboud University Nijmegen) with a thesis on literary debut prizes and value attribution in the Dutch literary field. Her research was published in Tijdschrift voor Nederlandse Taal- en Letterkunde (Journal of Dutch Language and Literature) and presented at various academic conferences. She has given guest lectures at Radboud University and Leiden University. Since 2024, Anne Oerlemans has been the founder and publisher of Uitgeverij Annex, a literary publishing house focused on new voices and idiosyncratic (translated) fiction.