Twelve categories, and the thirteenth honour

Every season confers thirteen honours. Twelve of them are categories, open to nomination and judged against criteria that are published before nominations open. The thirteenth is THE PALMA, and it is not a category.

You cannot nominate for it, you cannot campaign for it, and it does not appear on any shortlist. The panel confers it from the year's record, on the person whose work across that record is held to be beyond category. Some years the conversation is short. Some years it runs until the week of the ceremony.

We keep the distinction sharp because it protects both halves. The twelve stay honest because they are contested in the open. The thirteenth stays meaningful because nothing about it is for sale, for vote or for show.

When you read the Roll of Honour, read it that way: twelve arguments that were settled in public, and one judgement the institution stands behind alone.