The novel was highly praised, but the author was overlooked for the literary prize.

overlooked 是动词 overlook 的过去分词形式，over- 表示"越过、超过"，look 表示"看"，合起来字面意思是"目光越过(而没看到)"，引申为"没注意到、忽视"。在句中作过去分词，表示被动含义"被忽视"。