The Booker Prize

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction, also known in short as the Booker Prize, is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of either the Commonwealth of Nations or the Republic of Ireland.

The winner of the Booker Prize will generally be assured of international renown and success. It is also a mark of distinction for authors to be nominated for the Booker longlist or selected for inclusion in the shortlist. In 1993, the Booker of Bookers Prize was awarded to Salman Rushdie for Midnight's Children (the 1981 winner), as the best novel to win the award in the first 25 years of its existence.

History

The prize was originally known as the Booker-McConnell Prize after the company Booker-McConnell began sponsoring the event in 1968, and became commonly known as the "Booker Prize" or simply "the Booker". When administration of the prize was transferred to the Booker Prize Foundation in 2002, the title sponsor became the investment company Man Group, which opted to retain "Booker" as part of the official title of the prize. The prize money awarded with the Booker Prize was originally £21,000, and was subsequently raised to £50,000 in 2002 under the sponsorship of the Man Group.

Judging

The selection process for the winner of the prize commences with the formation of an advisory committee which includes an author, two publishers, a literary agent, a bookseller, a librarian, and a chairperson appointed by the Booker Prize Foundation. The advisory committee then selects the judging panel, the membership of which changes each year, although on rare occasions a judge may be selected a second time.

To maintain the consistent excellence of the prize, judges are selected from amongst leading literary critics, writers, academics and notable public figures.


Man Booker Prize winner named tonight

The winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction will be announced at a ceremony in London tonight.

Authors Ian McEwan ('On Chesil Beach') and Lloyd Jones ('Mister Pip') have been made favourites by different bookies.

Irish interest will focus on Dublin writer Anne Enright, who is shortlisted for her book 'The Gathering'.

The other nominees for the £50,000 award are Nicola Barker ('Darkmans'), Mohsin Hamid ('The Reluctant Fundamentalist') and Indra Sinha ('Animal's People').

McEwan won the award in 1998 for his book 'Amsterdam' and was also shortlisted for 'Atonement' (2001), 'Black Dogs' (1992) and 'The Comfort of Strangers' (1981).
All the other writers have been nominated for the first time.