Booker Prize

The Booker Prize is an annual honor presented to the finest novel. The award is granted to a novel written in English. Ireland or the United Kingdom should have released the book. A seven-member jury, consisting of writers, librarians, publishers, booksellers, and literary agents, selects the winner of the Booker Prize. The members of the panel are chosen by the Booker Prize Foundation. The winner of the Booker Prize gains a lot of attention, which leads to a rise in sales. The Booker Prize is regarded as a prestigious literary award. Aside from the Booker Prize, there is also the International Booker Prize.

Booker prize:

Booker prize is an award given each year to the best novel. The prize is given to an English language novel. The book should have been published in Ireland or the United Kingdom. From 1969 to 2001, the Booker Prize was known as the Booker Prize for Fiction. Then, from 2002 to 2019, it was known as Man Booker Prize, and currently, it is commonly known as Booker Prize. During the early days, when the Booker prize was just introduced, novels written by only Commonwealth (54 member states), Irish, and South Africans were allowed to participate. Though later they allowed Zimbabwe as well. It was only in 2014, that all the English language novels are allowed to participate in the Booker Prize awards. 

The winner of the Booker Prize award is decided by a seven-member panel including authors, librarians, publishers, booksellers, and literary agents. Booker Prize Foundation appoints these members of the panel. The winner of the Booker Prize award receives a lot of fame which leads to an increase in its sales. The Booker Prize is considered to be a high-profile literary award. It is a matter of pride for writers to even get selected in the nominations of Booker Prize. Before declaring the winner, there is a ‘longlist’ made by the authorities and then from that, a shortlist is made and a winner is selected from the shortlist. Apart from the Booker Prize, there is another award known as the International Booker Prize. This award is an international literary award and is also hosted in the United Kingdom. To qualify to participate in this award, the book should be translated into English language and should have been published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. The International Booker Prize was first given in 2004 and from 2005 to 2015 it was given once every two years. Then, from 2016, it has now been given to one book every year. The winners for the Booker Prize are generally announced in October, November.

Recent ‘Booker Prize winners at a Glance:

2021:

The winner of the Booker Prize 2021 was Damon Galgut for the novel, ‘The Promise’. The winner was announced on 3rd November 2021. Damon Galgut got 50,000 euros as prize money. Damon Galgut is a South African origin writer and playwright. Some of the famous works are, ‘The Beautiful Screaming of Pigs’, ‘The Quarry’, ‘The Good Doctor. His book, ‘In a Strange Room’ was earlier shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2010. Apart from the Booker Prize, he has won other prizes for his works such as ‘Commonwealth Writers Prize’, ‘Barry Ronge Fiction Prize’, etc.

2020:

The Booker Prize for 2020 was won by Douglas Stuart for his book ‘Shuggie Bain’. The announcement was made on 19th November 2020 and he received 50,000 euros as prize money. Douglas Stuart is a Scottish-American fashion designer and writer. Shuggie Bain was his debut book meaning that he had written no book in the past. Till now, only two Scottish writers have received the Booker Prize award including Stuart. The prize ceremony of Booker Prize of 2020 was an exception due to Covid; all writers marked their presence virtually.

2019:

For the first time in the history of the Booker Prize, the award was given to two authors Jointly. The Booker Prize 2019 was won by Margaret Atwood for her book ‘The Testaments’ and by Bernardine Evaristo for the book ‘Girl, Woman, Other’. Margaret Atwood belongs to Canada and is a novelist, poet, literary critic, environmental activist. She has written in different genres like non-fiction, children’s books, graphic novels, etc. Bernardine Evaristo is a British academician and an author. She is the founder of ‘The Brunel International African Poetry Award’.

Conclusion:

The Booker Prize is highly valued by the authors as only being on the nomination list of it gives immense pride to them. This prize is given annually to the novel with the prize money of 50,000 euros. The book should have been released in the United Kingdom or Ireland. There is also an award known as the International Booker Prize, which is separate from the Booker Prize.