Why is it in the News?

The Booker Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in the literary world, has recently come under fire for the historical links to slavery of its original sponsor, Booker Group.

What is the Booker Prize?

• The Booker Prize was founded in 1969, initially just for writers from the Commonwealth, but later opened to writers globally.
• Each year, the prize is awarded to a single work of fiction in the English language.
  • In 2004, a separate International Booker Prize was instituted for translated works.
• The prize was co-founded by publishers Tom Maschler and Graham C Greene, and from 1969 to 2001, it was sponsored by, and named after Booker Group Ltd, a British wholesale foods company, established in 1835 as a shipping and trading company, and now owned by Tesco.
• In 2002, British investment management firm Man Group became the prize’s sponsor, and thus it came to be known as The Man Booker Prize.
• After Man Group ended its sponsorship in 2019, American charity Crankstart took over, and reverted the award’s name to its original ‘Booker Prize’.
  • Irish author Paul Lynch wins the 2023 Booker Prize for his novel 'Prophet Song'.

About the International Booker Prize:

• The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) was launched in 2005.
• It was originally awarded every two years to a living author who has published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language.
• It was an award for the body of work of the author, rather than awarded for an individual novel.
• Beginning in 2016, the award changed. It is now given annually to a single book in English translation, with a £50,000 prize for the winning title, shared equally between author and translator.
  • Georgi Gospodinov and Angela Rodel have won the International Booker Prize 2023 for the novel ‘Time Shelter’.
  • ‘Tomb of Sand’ Geetanjali Shree, translated by Daisy Rockwell Winner 2022 winner.