Man Booker Prize Winner 2011

Three times shortlisted author Julian Barnes is the winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2011 for his novel, The Sense of an Ending.

The Sense of an Ending is his first novel since 2005. His previously shortlisted novels are Arthur and George (2005), England, England (1998) and Flaubert’s Parrot(1984). Barnes has won several other prestigious prizes; he is the only writer to have won both the Prix Médicis (for Flaubert’s Parrot) and the Prix Femina (for Talking it Over), he was awarded the Austrian State Prize for European Literature in 2004 and earlier this year he was awarded the David Cohen Prize for Literature in 2011 for his lifetime achievement in literature.

Dame Stella Rimington, Chair of the 2011 judges, made the announcement at the awards dinner at London’s Guildhall. Julian Barnes was presented with a cheque for £50,000. Dame Stella Rimington commented, ‘Julian Barnes’ The Sense of an Ending has the markings of a classic of English Literature. It is exquisitely written, subtly plotted and reveals new depths with each reading.’ [Man Booker website]

The Sense of an Ending

The story of a man coming to terms with the mutable past, Julian Barnes’s new novel is laced with his trademark precision, dexterity and insight. It is the work of one of the world’s most distinguished writers.

Tony Webster and his clique first met Adrian Finn at school. Sex-hungry and book-hungry, they navigated the girl drought of gawky adolescence together, trading in affectations, in-jokes, rumour and wit. Maybe Adrian was a little more serious than the others, certainly more intelligent, but they swore to stay friends forever. Until Adrian’s life took a turn into tragedy, and all of them, especially Tony, moved on and did their best to forget.

Now Tony is in middle age. He’s had a career and a marriage, a calm divorce. He gets along nicely, he thinks, with his one child, a daughter, and even with his ex-wife. He’s certainly never tried to hurt anybody. Memory, though, is imperfect. It can always throw up surprises, as a lawyer’s letter is about to prove. The unexpected bequest conveyed by that letter leads Tony on a dogged search through a past suddenly turned murky. And how do you carry on, contentedly, when events conspire to upset all your vaunted truths? [Fantastic Fiction]

You can read about the Man Booker shortlisted novels here.

Man Booker Dozen

The thirteen books on the Man Booker Prize 2011 longlist were announced last night.

The longlisted titles were chosen by a panel of five judges chaired by author and former Director-General of MI5, Dame Stella Rimington, from a whopping 138 books. The so-called ‘Man Booker Dozen’ include one former Man Booker Prize winner (Alan Hollinghurst, in 2004); three previously shortlisted writers (Alan Hollinghurst, Sebastian Barry and Julian Barnes); one longlisted author (Carol Birch); two poets (Alison Pick and Patrick McGuiness); four first time novelists (Stephen Kelman, A.D. Miller, Yvvette Edwards and Patrick McGuinness) and three Canadian writers (Alison Pick, Patrick deWitt and Esi Edugyan).

 

• Julian Barnes The Sense of an Ending
• Sebastian Barry On Canaan’s Side
• Carol Birch Jamrach’s Menagerie
• Patrick deWitt The Sisters Brothers
• Esi Edugyan Half Blood Blues
• Yvvette Edwards A Cupboard Full of Coats
• Alan Hollinghurst The Stranger’s Child
• Stephen Kelman Pigeon English
• Patrick McGuinness The Last Hundred Days
• A.D. Miller Snowdrops
• Alison Pick Far to Go
• Jane Rogers The Testament of Jessie Lamb
• D.J. Taylor Derby Day

The Guardian online has a beautiful “Man Booker Longlist in Pictures” post with the cover art and a short precis of each book and a link to a review of that book.

The shortlist of six will be announced on Tuesday 6 September and the winner will be announced on Tuesday 18 October at a dinner at London’s Guildhall. The Man Booker Prize is worth £50,000 to the winner and each of the six shortlisted authors, including the winner, receive £2,500 and a designer bound edition of their book.

As well as Dame Stella Rimington as the Chair, writer and journalist, Matthew d’Ancona; author, Susan Hill; author and politician, Chris Mullin and Head of Books at the Daily Telegraph, Gaby Wood are on the judging panel.

Hollinghurst and Barnes are the front-runners at this early stage but going on the covers I’m going to back Derby Day, The Last Hundred Days and The Sisters Brothers. I’d have to back The Sisters Brothers for the title too. Next stop The Book Depository????

What do you think? Anyone read any of these authors/titles?

Man Booker International Prize shortlist

The finalists for the Man Booker International Prize was announced in Sydney this morning by chair of the judges Rick Gekoski. The prize, awarded every two years, is worth £60,000 (AUD $93,247.40) to the winner and recognises the winner for his or her achievement in fiction. Eligible authors have published fiction either originally in English or their work is generally available in translation in the English language. The authors come from eight countries, five are published in translation and there are four women on the list.

The thirteen authors on the list are:

• Wang Anyi (China)
• Juan Goytisolo (Spain)
• James Kelman (UK)
• John le Carré (UK)
• Amin Maalouf (Lebanon)
• David Malouf (Australia)
• Dacia Maraini (Italy)
• Rohinton Mistry (India/Canada)
• Philip Pullman (UK)
• Marilynne Robinson (USA)
• Philip Roth (USA)
• Su Tong (China)
• Anne Tyler (USA)

Click on the link for each author to read an author profile from The Guardian.

In announcing the finalists, Rick Gekoski said : `The 2011 List of Finalists honours thirteen great writers from around the world. It is, we think, diverse, fresh and thought-provoking, and serves to remind us anew of the importance of fiction in defining both ourselves and the world in which we live. Each of these writers is a delight, and any of them would make a worthy winner.‘

However, shortly after the finalists were announced John le Carre’s literary agents, Curtis Brown, issued the following statement on his behalf : “I am enormously flattered to be named as a finalist of 2011 Man Booker International Prize. However I do not compete for literary prizes and have therefore asked for my name to be withdrawn.”

Rick Gekoski’s response was : “John le Carré’s name will, of course, remain on the list. We are disappointed that he wants to withdraw from further consideration because we are great admirers of his work.”

The Man Booker International Prize winner will be announced at the Sydney Writers’ Festival on 18 May 2011 and then celebrated at an awards ceremony in London on 28 June 2011.
Past winners of the Man Booker International Prize are Alice Munro (2009), Chinua Achebe (2007) and Ismail Kadare (2005).

Man Booker Prize winner 2010

Congratulations must go to British author Howard Jacobson who was named the winner of the £50,000 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for The Finkler Question. Jacobson has been on the Man Booker longlist twice before – for Kalooki Nights in 2006 and for Who’s Sorry Now in 2002. “The Finkler Question is a novel about love, loss and male friendship, and explores what it means to be Jewish today. Said to have ‘some of the wittiest, most poignant and sharply intelligent comic prose in the English language’, The Finkler Question has been described as ‘wonderful’ and ‘richly satisfying’ and as a novel of ‘full of wit, warmth, intelligence, human feeling and understanding’” (Source: The Man Booker Prizes website)

The Finkler Question edged out the bookies favourite, C by Tom McCarthy to win the 2010 prize and Australian Peter Carey’s Parrot and Olivier in America. Carey would have been an unprecedented 3 time winner had his book been chosen. The other shortlisted books are Room by Emma Donoghue, The Long Song by Andrea Levy and In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut. As well as the substantial cash prize of £50,000 (AU$80,137), Howard Jacobson can expect a huge increase in sales and recognition worldwide; already, sales for the books on the 2010 Longlist have been 45% higher than last year. Each of the six shortlisted authors, including the winner, receives £2,500 and a designer-bound edition of their book.

Read about the shortlisted books and longlisted books on the Man Booker Prizes website.

Man Booker Prize shortlist 2010

The shortlist of six titles was announced yesterday at a press conference at Man’s London headquarters. The six books, selected from the Man Booker Prize longlist of 13, are:

Peter Carey ~ Parrot and Olivier in America

Emma Donoghue ~ Room

Damon Galgut ~ In a Strange Room

Howard Jacobson ~ The Finkler Question

Andrea Levy ~ The Long Song

Tom McCarthy ~ C

The winner of the 2010 Man Booker Prize for Fiction will be announced on Tuesday 12 October at a dinner at London’s Guildhall.

Man Booker Prize Longlist

The Man Booker Dozen, the longlist for the Man Booker Prize, was announced last night from a total of 138 entries. The prize winner, to be announced in October, receives £50,000 as well as greatly increased sales and worldwide recognition while each of the six shortlisted authors, to be announced in September, will receive £2,500 and a designer-bound edition of their book.

In announcing the longlist Andrew Motion, chair of judges, commented : “Here are thirteen exceptional novels – books we have chosen for their intrinsic quality, without reference to the past work of their authors. Wide-ranging in their geography and their concern, they tell powerful stories which make the familiar strange and cover an enormous range of history and feeling. We feel confident that they will provoke and entertain.”

The 2010 longlist includes two Australians, Peter Carey (two time winner already – Oscar and Lucinda in 1988 and True History of the Kelly Gang in 2001 – also shortlisted in 1985 for Illywhacker and longlisted in 2006 for Theft) and Christos Tsiolkas. who has already won the Commonweath Prize for The Slap.

Here is the Man Booker Dozen for 2010 :

• Peter Carey – Parrot and Olivier in America (Australia)
• Emma Donoghue – Room (Ireland)
• Helen Dunmore – The Betrayal (Britain)
• Damon Galgut – In a Strange Room (South Africa)
• Howard Jacobson – The Finkler Question (Britain)
• Andrea Levy – The Long Song (Britain)
• Tom McCarthy – C (Britain)
• David Mitchell – The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (Britain)
• Lisa Moore - February (Canada)
• Paul Murray – Skippy Dies (Ireland)
• Rose Tremain – Trespass (Britain)
• Christos Tsiolkas – The Slap (Australia)
• Alan Warner - The Stars in the Bright Sky (Britain)

You can see a list of previous longlisted, shortlisted and winning novels from 1969 to 2009 here or here (with book covers).