The prize-winning books of 1961

In 1961, the prizes ReadingRate follows named 7 winners. The most approachable is The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer (difficulty 26/100, about 25 hours); the hardest is A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (70/100).

• Nobel Prize in Literature: Ivo Andrić — difficulty 57/100
• Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee — difficulty 42/100, about 6.3 hours
• National Book Award for Fiction: The Waters of Kronos by Conrad Richter — difficulty 59/100, about 2.9 hours
• Hugo Award for Best Novel: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. — difficulty 70/100, about 14 hours
• Prix Goncourt: The Mercy of God by Jean Cau
• National Book Award for Nonfiction: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer — difficulty 26/100, about 25 hours
• Albert J. Beveridge Award: The United States and the First Hague Peace Conference by Calvin DeArmond Davis

Earlier: 1960 · Every year · Later: 1962

Other prizes: Nobel Prize in Literature, Booker Prize, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, International Booker Prize, National Book Award for Fiction, Women's Prize for Fiction, Hugo Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award for Best Novel, Prix Goncourt, Dublin Literary Award, PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, National Book Award for Nonfiction, Costa Novel Award, Albert J. Beveridge Award, Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction. Every literary prize; every winner of 2026.