A Quote by Michael Moorcock

The book trade invented literary prizes to stimulate sales, not to reward merit.

Michael Moorcock

Quote Topics

Book Invented Literary Merit Prizes Reward Sales Stimulate Trade

Quote Author

Michael Moorcock
English - Writer
Born: December 18, 1939

I'm not sure that the culture of literary prizes is always a good thing, but while there are literary prizes, it's nice to be nominated.

Sally Rooney

If merit is not recognised, still it is merit, and it ought to be honoured as such; but if it is rewarded, it becomes valuable in the eyes of all, and everybody is encouraged to pursue that course in which merit obtains its due reward.

Keshub Chandra Sen

Nothing ever invented provides such sustenance, such infinite reward for time spent, as a good book.

David McCullough

Intellectuals feel they are the most valuable people, the ones with the highest merit, and that society should reward people in accordance with their value and merit. But a capitalist society does not satisfy the principle of distribution 'to each according to his merit or value.'

Robert Nozick

The appearances of goodness and merit often meet with a greater reward from the world than goodness and merit themselves.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld

The great esteem in which the Nobel prizes are universally held is due to the fact that for several generations they have been given purely on scientific merit and not through lobbying and politicking. I do hope that it will stay this way, and the prizes will never be given according to the number of votes in live TV contests!

Andre Geim

The book that is the closest genetically to 'Goon Squad' is 'Look at Me.' It has the futuristic element - although, freakishly, almost every aspect I invented has come to pass in some way, including the terrorist who fantasies about blowing up the World Trade Centre. That was extremely uncomfortable. The book came out on the week of 9/11.

Jennifer Egan

If there is going to be any meaningful sales, it's going to be through word of mouth and people recommending it to their book club and then a thousand more book clubs do it, and then you get into real sales numbers.

Douglas Brunt

The art of writing books is not yet invented. But it is at the point of being invented. Fragments of this nature are literary seeds. There may be many an infertile grain among them: nevertheless, if only some come up!

Novalis

Literary prizes serve a purpose if they allow for discussion of books.

Richard Flanagan

Generally, literary prizes are significant not for who the winner is but the discussion they create around books.

Richard Flanagan

I'm only interested in science fiction that's used as a literary device, a shortcut into something more exploratory or universal about our experience. That's why I think it was invented and why mythology was invented; it's a tool, not an end to itself.

Shane Carruth

There's no literary merit in my books.

Clive Cussler

That the question of likability even exists in literary conversations is odd. It implies that we are engaging in a courtship. When characters are unlikable, they don’t meet our mutable, varying standards. Certainly we can find kinship in fiction, but literary merit shouldn’t be dictated by whether we want to be friends or lovers with those about whom we read.

Roxane Gay

My advice is not to aim for prizes and awards. We are in this for the joy of research, the fascination, the love of science. That's the reward, really.