They took their time, but the judges have finally announced the winner of the world’s most anticipated literary award, The Man Booker Prize, in London. And the winner is:
Jamaican author Marlon James for A Brief History of Seven Killings, an intriguing novel based on the real life attempted assassination of Bob Marley. Read a New York Times review of the novel here.
Chair of the Man Booker judges, Michael Wood says, “This book is startling in its range of voices and registers, running from the patois of the street posse to The Book of Revelation. It is a representation of political times and places, from the CIA intervention in Jamaica to the early years of crack gangs in New York and Miami.
“It is a crime novel that moves beyond the world of crime and takes us deep into a recent history we know far too little about. It moves at a terrific pace and will come to be seen as a classic of our times.”
For many writers winning the Man Booker Prize is the ultimate accolade. “It’s the one which, if we’re completely honest, we most covet,” said 1996 winner Graham Swift.
The £50,000 prize can mean even more than the prize money. It’s also guaranteed to increase book sales and exposure, with the award covered by media worldwide.
Its prestige has increased further now that it’s open to a wider range of writers. Traditionally open only to citizens of the UK, the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland, last year the Man Booker was opened to writers of any nationality, writing originally in English and published in the UK.
The final winner was chosen from a shortlist of six. The other shortlisted titles were:
Tom McCarthy (UK) – Satin Island
Chigozie Obioma (Nigeria) – The Fishermen
Sunjeev Sahota (UK) – The Year of the Runaways
Anne Tyler (US) – A Spool of Blue Thread
Hanya Yanagihara (US) – A Little Life
How many Booker prize winning books have you read? Take the survey on our Facebook page
To see every Booker Prize winning book since 1969 see our list here.
See all the shortlisted titles here.
See 10 interesting facts about the Booker Prize here.
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