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Man Booker longlist announced
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The longlist for the prestigious Man Booker Prize was announced today. Traditionally referred to as the Man Booker Dozen, the list of thirteen novels written by authors from Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations will be narrowed down to a shortlist of six titles on September 8. The final winner and recipient of £50,000 will be announced October 6.
This year’s judges have tough work ahead of them. The longlist for 2009, selected from over 130 books submitted by publishers, features some of the most decorated writers working in the English language. From the Man Booker website:
We believe it to be one of the strongest lists in recent memory, with two former winners, four past-shortlisted writers, three first-time novelists and a span of styles and themes that make this an outstandingly rich fictional mix.
The two former winners on the list are South African/Australian author J.M. Coetzee, who won in 1983 for The Life and Times of Michael K and in 1999 for Disgrace, and English writer A.S. Byatt, who won in 1990 for Possession. William Trevor, Sarah Waters, Colm Toibin, and Sarah Hall round out the previously shortlisted writers.
Each year since 1969, the Man Booker Prize has recognized one author for having published the “very best book of the year.” That author frequently goes on to literary and financial success. For many, inclusion on the longlist is enough to garner significant recognition. Past recipients of the prize have included Salman Rushdie (Midnight’s Children), Michael Ondaatje (The English Patient), Ian McEwan (Amsterdam), and Margaret Atwood (The Blind Assassin). 2008’s winner, The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, has racked over half a million sales worldwide and is being translated into 39 different languages.
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