Within the framework of all activities targeted at the support of culture and arts the Conservative Institute in close co-operation with the Foundation of Milan Šimečka and the Jury of the Dominik Tatarka Award grants the Dominik Tatarka Award for literature every year. The Conservative Institute assumed the responsibility for granting the Award in 2000 and since 2004 the CI has been co-operating with the Jury of the Dominik Tatarka Award. The prize is one of the tools that help the Conservative Institute support culture and, particularly in this case, literature.
This prize is considered to be the most prestigious Slovak award for literature and it is given to the authors who write exceptional literary works following the humanistic traditions of Slovak culture. The prize is an intellectual legacy of Dominik Tatarka, who was an important Slovak dissident of the 20th century.