Booker Prize facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids The Booker Prize

Presented by	Booker, McConnell Ltd (1969–2001) Man Group (2002–2019) Crankstart (2019 onwards)
Location	Somerset House, Strand, London, England
Reward	£50,000
First awarded	1969; 56 years ago (1969)

The Booker Prize is a very important literary award given out every year. It celebrates the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. The winner gets a prize of £50,000 and becomes famous around the world. This often helps their book sell many copies!

When the prize started, only writers from certain countries like the Commonwealth and Ireland could win. But in 2014, the rules changed. Now, any English-language novel published in the UK or Ireland can be considered. This change caused some discussion among book lovers.

A group of five people, including writers, publishers, and journalists, chooses the winning book each year. Being chosen for the "longlist" or "shortlist" is a big honor for authors.

There are also other Booker prizes. The International Booker Prize is for books translated into English. Its £50,000 prize is shared between the author and the translator. A new Children's Booker Prize was launched in 2025. Its first winner will be announced in 2027.

The Booker Prize: How It Started
How the Judges Choose a Winner
Winners
Special Booker Awards
How Books Are Nominated
Other Related Literary Awards
See also

The Booker Prize: How It Started

The Booker Prize began in 1969. It was first called the "Booker Prize for Fiction." The company Booker, McConnell Ltd started sponsoring it. The first award ceremony happened on April 22 in London.

In 2002, the prize got a new main sponsor, the Man Group. They kept "Booker" in the name, calling it the "Man Booker Prize." The prize is now managed by the Booker Prize Foundation. This foundation is a charity that helps support the award.

The prize money has grown a lot over the years. It started at £5,000. In 1978, it became £10,000. Then, in 2002, it increased to £50,000. This makes it one of the most generous literary prizes in the world! All authors who make it to the "shortlist" also receive £2,500 and a special copy of their book.

The trophy for the Booker Prize was first designed by artist Jan Pieńkowski. This original design was brought back for the 2023 award.

Early Winners and Rule Changes

The first Booker Prize winner in 1969 was P. H. Newby for his novel Something to Answer For. In 1970, Bernice Rubens made history as the first woman to win the award. Her winning book was The Elected Member.

A rule change in 1971 meant that books published in 1970 were missed. To fix this, a special "Lost Man Booker Prize" was created in 2010. J. G. Farrell won this special award for his book Troubles.

In 1972, the winner John Berger used his acceptance speech to make a statement. He protested against the prize's sponsor and gave half of his prize money to a social movement.

Memorable Moments and Debates

The 1980 award saw a dramatic decision. Anthony Burgess refused to attend unless he knew he had won. The judges chose William Golding's Rites of Passage just before the ceremony.

In 1981, nominee John Banville humorously asked for the prize. He wanted to buy and donate all the longlisted books to libraries. Salman Rushdie eventually won that year for Midnight's Children.

The 1992 prize was split between two authors: Michael Ondaatje for The English Patient and Barry Unsworth for Sacred Hunger. This led to a new rule. From then on, only one author could win the prize each year.

The 1994 winner, How Late It Was, How Late by James Kelman, caused a lot of discussion. Some judges and critics strongly disliked the book. This showed how different opinions can be in the literary world.

In 1997, Arundhati Roy won for The God of Small Things. This choice also sparked debate among some critics.

The 21st Century: New Rules and Sponsors

Since 2001, the list of nominated books, called the "longlist," has been made public each year. This helps more people discover new books.

In 2001, Peter Carey became the first author to win the Booker Prize twice. Later, J. M. Coetzee, Hilary Mantel, and Margaret Atwood also achieved this rare feat.

The Man Booker Prize logo in 2015

A big change happened in 2014. The prize rules were updated to allow authors from anywhere in the world to be considered. Before this, only writers from the Commonwealth, Ireland, or Zimbabwe were eligible. This change was met with mixed feelings. Some people worried it would change the prize's unique identity. The first American winner was Paul Beatty in 2016.

In 2019, the Man Group ended its sponsorship. A new charitable foundation, Crankstart, took over. The award's name returned to simply "The Booker Prize."

That same year, the judges made a surprising decision. They broke the rule about having only one winner. They awarded the prize to two authors: Bernardine Evaristo for Girl, Woman, Other and Margaret Atwood for The Testaments. Evaristo was the first Black woman to win. Atwood, at 79, became the oldest winner.

Recent Winners and Events

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the award ceremony was held online. Douglas Stuart won for his first novel, Shuggie Bain.

The 2021 prize went to South African writer Damon Galgut for The Promise. He had been nominated twice before.

In 2022, the ceremony returned with a new look. Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka won for The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.

The 2023 prize was won by Irish writer Paul Lynch for his novel Prophet Song. This book received different reactions from critics.

In 2024, Samantha Harvey won for Orbital. It was the first book set in space to win the prize. It was also one of the shortest winning books ever. Orbital quickly became a bestseller after its win.

The 2025 prize was awarded to David Szalay for his novel Flesh.

How the Judges Choose a Winner

A panel of five judges is chosen each year to pick the Booker Prize winner. These judges are usually well-known writers, critics, academics, or public figures. Gaby Wood, who leads the Booker Prize Foundation, helps select them.

The judges have a big job! In 2023, they read 163 books over seven months. First, they create a "longlist" of 12 or 13 books. Then, they read those books again. Next, they narrow it down to a "shortlist" of six books. Finally, after reading those six books a third time, they choose the winner.

The idea of a small group choosing the "best book" can be debated. Some people, like author Julian Barnes, have jokingly called the prize "posh bingo." However, after winning in 2011, he said the judges were "the wisest heads in literary Christendom."

For many years, the winner was announced at a fancy dinner in London. But in recent years, the ceremony has changed. It has been held at different venues, sometimes with a more casual feel.

Winners

Year	Author	Title	Genre(s)	Country
1969	P. H. Newby	Something to Answer For	Literary fiction	ENG
1970	Bernice Rubens	The Elected Member	Literary fiction	WAL
1971	V. S. Naipaul	In a Free State	Literary fiction	UK TTO
1972	John Berger	G.	Experimental literature	ENG
1973	J. G. Farrell	The Siege of Krishnapur	Literary fiction	ENG IRL
1974	Nadine Gordimer	The Conservationist	Literary fiction	ZAF
1974	Stanley Middleton	Holiday	Literary fiction	ENG
1975	Ruth Prawer Jhabvala	Heat and Dust	Historical fiction	UK DE
1976	David Storey	Saville	Literary fiction	ENG
1977	Paul Scott	Staying On	Literary fiction	ENG
1978	Iris Murdoch	The Sea, the Sea	Philosophical novel	ENG IRL
1979	Penelope Fitzgerald	Offshore	Literary fiction	ENG
1980	William Golding	Rites of Passage	Literary fiction	ENG
1981	Salman Rushdie	Midnight's Children	Magic realism	ENG
1982	Thomas Keneally	Schindler's Ark	Biographical novel	AUS
1983	J. M. Coetzee	Life & Times of Michael K	Literary fiction	ZAF
1984	Anita Brookner	Hotel du Lac	Literary fiction	ENG
1985	Keri Hulme	The Bone People	Mystery novel	NZL
1986	Kingsley Amis	The Old Devils	Comic novel	ENG
1987	Penelope Lively	Moon Tiger	Literary fiction	ENG
1988	Peter Carey	Oscar and Lucinda	Historical fiction	AUS
1989	Kazuo Ishiguro	The Remains of the Day	Historical fiction	ENG
1990	A. S. Byatt	Possession	Historiographic metafiction	ENG
1991	Ben Okri	The Famished Road	Magic realism	NGR
1992	Michael Ondaatje	The English Patient	Historiographic metafiction	CAN SRI
1992	Barry Unsworth	Sacred Hunger	Historical fiction	ENG
1993	Roddy Doyle	Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha	Literary fiction	IRL
1994	James Kelman	How Late It Was, How Late	Stream of consciousness	SCO
1995	Pat Barker	The Ghost Road	War novel	ENG
1996	Graham Swift	Last Orders	Literary fiction	ENG
1997	Arundhati Roy	The God of Small Things	Literary fiction	IND
1998	Ian McEwan	Amsterdam	Literary fiction	ENG
1999	J. M. Coetzee	Disgrace	Literary fiction	RSA
2000	Margaret Atwood	The Blind Assassin	Historical fiction	CAN
2001	Peter Carey	True History of the Kelly Gang	Historical fiction	AUS
2002	Yann Martel	Life of Pi	Fantasy and adventure fiction	CAN
2003	DBC Pierre	Vernon God Little	Black comedy	AUS
2004	Alan Hollinghurst	The Line of Beauty	Historical fiction	ENG
2005	John Banville	The Sea	Literary fiction	IRL
2006	Kiran Desai	The Inheritance of Loss	Literary fiction	IND
2007	Anne Enright	The Gathering	Literary fiction	IRL
2008	Aravind Adiga	The White Tiger	Literary fiction	IND
2009	Hilary Mantel	Wolf Hall	Historical fiction	ENG
2010	Howard Jacobson	The Finkler Question	Comic novel	ENG
2011	Julian Barnes	The Sense of an Ending	Literary fiction	ENG
2012	Hilary Mantel	Bring Up the Bodies	Historical fiction	ENG
2013	Eleanor Catton	The Luminaries	Historical fiction	NZL
2014	Richard Flanagan	The Narrow Road to the Deep North	Historical fiction	AUS
2015	Marlon James	A Brief History of Seven Killings	Historical/experimental novel	JAM
2016	Paul Beatty	The Sellout	Satire	USA
2017	George Saunders	Lincoln in the Bardo	Historical/experimental novel	USA
2018	Anna Burns	Milkman	Literary fiction	NIR
2019	Margaret Atwood	The Testaments	Literary fiction	CAN
2019	Bernardine Evaristo	Girl, Woman, Other	Experimental literature	ENG
2020	Douglas Stuart	Shuggie Bain	Literary fiction	SCO USA
2021	Damon Galgut	The Promise	Literary fiction	RSA
2022	Shehan Karunatilaka	The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida	Fantasy / History / Political Satire	SRI
2023	Paul Lynch	Prophet Song	Dystopian novel	IRL
2024	Samantha Harvey	Orbital	Literary fiction/Science Fiction	ENG
2025	David Szalay	Flesh	Literary fiction	HUN ENG

Special Booker Awards

Over the years, the Booker Prize has given out some special awards.

In 1971, the rules changed, and books published in 1970 were missed. To fix this, the "Lost Man Booker Prize" was awarded in 2010. J. G. Farrell won for his book Troubles.

For its 25th anniversary in 1993, a "Booker of Bookers" prize was given. Judges chose Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children as the best winner from the first 25 years.

In 2006, a "Best of Beryl" prize honored author Beryl Bainbridge. She had been nominated five times but never won. Her book Master Georgie won this special award.

To celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2008, "The Best of the Booker" was awarded. The public voted, and Midnight's Children won again!

In 2018, for the 50th anniversary, the "Golden Man Booker" was given. Five books, one from each decade, were chosen. The public voted for Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient as the winner.

How Books Are Nominated

Publishers can submit books for the Booker Prize. The number of books they can submit depends on how many of their authors have been longlisted in the past five years.

Authors who have won the prize before are automatically considered if they publish new books. Judges can also ask to consider other books that were not formally submitted. On average, judges read about 130 books each year.

Other Related Literary Awards

There are other awards connected to the Booker Prize.

The International Booker Prize is a separate award. It is given each year to a single book that has been translated into English. The £50,000 prize is shared equally between the author and the translator.

Other similar prizes exist around the world. These include the Booker-Open Russia Literary Prize (also known as the Russian Booker Prize) and the Man Asian Literary Prize.

In October 2025, the Booker Foundation announced a new Children's Booker Prize. This award will celebrate the best fiction for children aged 8-12. Its first winner will be announced in 2027.