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For an author, the Booker prize is the ultimate dream.
The
Booker Prize is one the world’s most famous prizes awarded in the field of
literature to the best contemporary work of fiction. The award includes a purse
of 21, 000 pounds. A bonus here is that both the winner and the short listed
authors gain worldwide attention, which incidentally translates into an increase
in book sales.
For instance, the prize winning Disgrace
marked an increase in sales by a whopping thousand per cent plus in an
incredibly short time.The
Indian author Arundhati Roy’s first novel The
God Of Small Things (1997) sold well over a million copies. In 1998, when
the list was announced bookshops reported a dramatic increase in the sale of all
books in the list, and the trend continued even after the results were announced
on October 27. |
The fastest selling winner was Roddy Doyle’s Paddy
Clarke Ha Ha Ha (1993), which sold 27,000 copies in hardback within half an
hour of bookshops opening the day after the announcement.
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Arundhati Roy |
Salman Rushdie |
The
financiers
Booker, which is a part of the Iceland Group, is the largest cash and carry
company in the United Kingdom, with nearly two hundred branches all over the
world. It provides the funding for the award. The administration is
taken care of by Book Trust, an independent charity organization.
A
management committee advises Booker on the selection of the judges and
chairman for the current year. The committee is vested with the right to
amend any rules, if deemed necessary. Experts from all aspects of the book
world are included in the committee. Members include an author, three
publishers, an agent, a bookseller, a librarian, the prize administrator and
public relations consultant and a chairman appointed by Booker. The panel of
judges usually consists of a literary critic, an academic, a literary
editor, a novelist and a well-known public figure.
Its
birth
The Booker Prize was first set up in 1968, when celebrated publisher Tom
Maschler approached Booker with the idea of sponsoring a prize. At that time,
the Authors’ Division of Booker was bringing out the books of authors of the
stature of Agatha Christie, Harold Pinter, Georgette Heyer and so on.
Those who initiated the idea were aware that the prize could take a while to
make a mark, but at the same time they were confident that once it made a mark,
the financiers would be proud of their sponsorship. And the Booker Prize for
Fiction was established. Needless to add, results far exceeded expectations and
a Booker Prize is considered the ultimate recognition in a writer’s life,
probably after the Nobel prize.
A publisher from the United Kingdom may enter a maximum of two full-length
novels for consideration during a current year. Besides, works by a Booker prize
winning author (winning the last ten years) and those who were short-listed in
the last ten years may be submitted for consideration. From among these, judges
shortlist of minimum eight and maximum twelve titles.
Kingsley Amis, Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie and Roddy Doyle are some of the
past Booker prize winners.
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