In the attempt to point to the literary and historical significance of Jelena Dimitrijević’s novel Nove, this paper investigates the inconsistencies surrounding the prize allegedly awarded for this novel, which is a piece of information that has been reappearing in academic discussions for more than a century. Upon examining the texts that mention the Matica srpska Prize, the essay rejects this possibility, quoting the relevant minutes of this institution. The essay proceeds to examine a much more frequent and, in all likelihood, older piece of information – that the prize was awarded by Srpska književna zadruga [Serbian Literary Cooperative], which published the novel. The results of this study largely confirm the authors’ hypothesis that the publication itself was later incorrectly interpreted as a separate prize. The key evidence supporting the hypothesis is to be found in Istorija Srpske književne zadruge [The History of the Serbian Literary Cooperative], which states that four manuscripts arrived in response to their call for submissions, specifying that the accepted manuscript – Jelena Dimitrijević’s Nove – was printed as any other work, not as the winner of the literary competition.