Man Booker longlist announced
The ‘Man Booker Dozen’ announced
The judges for the 2008 Man Booker Prize for Fiction today (Tuesday 29th July) announce their longlist of books in the running for the prize this year.
The longlist of 13 books, the ‘Man Booker Dozen', was chosen from 112 entries; 103 were submitted for the prize by publishers and nine were called in by the judges.
The longlist is as follows;
Author Title Publisher
Adiga, Aravind The White Tiger Atlantic
Arnold, Gaynor Girl in a Blue Dress Tindal Street Press
Barry, Sebastian The Secret Scripture Faber and Faber
Berger, John From A to X Verso
de Kretser, Michelle The Lost Dog Chatto & Windus
Ghosh, Amitav Sea of Poppies John Murray
Grant, Linda The Clothes on Their Backs Virago
Hanif, Mohammed A Case of Exploding Mangoes Jonathan Cape
Hensher, Philip The Northern Clemency Fourth Estate
O'Neill, Joseph Netherland Fourth Estate
Rushdie, Salman The Enchantress of Florence Jonathan Cape
Smith, Tom Rob Child 44 Simon & Schuster
Toltz, Steve A Fraction of the Whole Hamish Hamilton
Chair of judges, Michael Portillo, comments:
"With a notable degree of consensus, the five Man Booker judges decided on their longlist of 13 books. The judges are pleased with the geographical balance of the longlist with writers from Pakistan, India, Australia, Ireland and UK. We also are happy with the interesting mix of books, five first novels and two novels by former winners. The list covers an extraordinary variety of writing. Still two qualities emerge this year: large scale narrative and the striking use of humour."
The judging panel for the 2008 Man Booker Prize for Fiction is: Michael Portillo, former MP and Cabinet Minister; Alex Clark, editor of Granta; Louise Doughty, novelist; James Heneage, founder of Ottakar's bookshops and Hardeep Singh Kohli, TV and radio broadcaster.
The 2008 shortlist will be announced on Tuesday 9th September at a press conference at Man Group's London office. The winner will be announced on Tuesday 14th October at an awards ceremony at Guildhall, London.
-ends-
Notes to Editors
- The longlist this year consists of 13 books. The maximum number now prescribed by the revised rules of the prize is 13 titles
- The Booker Prize for Fiction was first awarded in 1969, and Man Group plc was announced as the sponsor of the prize in April 2002, with a five year extension agreed in 2006. For a full history of the prize including previous winners, shortlisted authors and judges visit the prize section. The site features the rules of entry, background information and breaking news and is the quickest way for the prize's worldwide audience to access information
- The Gathering by Anne Enright (Jonathan Cape) won the Man Booker Prize 2007. It has sold 70,000 in hardback in the UK, 76,000 in the Irish Trade paperback and a total of 160,000 in paperback in the UK and Ireland. It has also sold 340,000 copies in the US
- 2008 is the 40th anniversary of the Booker Prize (now the Man Booker Prize) for Fiction. To mark the occasion, a range of events and initiatives have been taking place throughout the year.
- To coincide with the announcement of the 2008 Man Booker Prize shortlist on September 9th, the V&A Museum is hosting an exhibition telling the visual story of the prize over the years. This exhibition will run until March 2009.
- The British Council is working towards the creation of an online collection of contemporary British literature and is in negotiation with publishers to include former winners of the Booker Prize and Man Booker Prize as e-books, which can be purchased. Arts and literary festivals across the UK have been joining in the celebrations by hosting anniversary events inspired by the Booker Prize. The Canterbury Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival and The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival are all holding events later in the year
- Every year publishers are allowed to submit two books for the Man Booker Prize. Every former Booker Prize winner and any author who has appeared on the shortlist in the last ten years is also eligible
- The Advisory Committee, which advises on any changes to the rules and on the selection of the judges, represents all sides of the book world. Its members are: Ion Trewin (Literary Director, Man Booker Prizes); Richard Cable, publisher; Mark Chilton, Company Secretary, Booker Ltd; Peter Clarke, Chief Executive, Man Group plc; Jonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literacy Trust; Victoria Glendinning, writer; Basil Comely, BBC TV; Derek Johns, literary agent; Gerry Johnson, Managing Director, Waterstone's; Nigel Newton, publisher; Fiammetta Rocco, literary editor, The Economist (Man Booker International Prize administrator); Eve Smith (Company Secretary, the Booker Prize Foundation); Robert Topping, Topping & Company Booksellers and Erica Wagner, literary editor, The Times
- The Booker Prize Foundation is a registered charity (no 1090049) which, since 2002, has been responsible for the award of the prize. The trustees of the Booker Prize Foundation are former Chairman of Booker plc, Jonathan Taylor CBE (Chair); Lord Baker of Dorking CH; former Man Booker Prize administrator, Martyn Goff CBE; playwright and President of the Royal Literary Fund, Ronald Harwood CBE; former Chair of the British Council, Baroness Kennedy QC; writer, Baroness Neuberger DBE; MEP Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne; and former Finance Director of Rentokil plc, Christopher Pearce
- Man is a world-leading alternative investment management business. With a broad range of funds for institutional and private investors globally, it is known for its performance, innovative product design and investor service. Man manages over $78 billion and employs 1,700 people in 13 countries worldwide
- The original business was founded in 1783. Today the parent company, Man Group plc, is listed on the London Stock Exchange. It is ranked in the top 40 companies of the FTSE 100 Index with a market capitalisation of about $20 billion
- Man supports many awards, charities and initiatives around the world, including sponsorship of the Man Booker literary prizes and the Man Group International Climate Change Award. Further information can be found at http://www.mangroupplc.com/
- Booker is the UK's leading food wholesaler with over 170 branches nationwide. It serves over 350,000 independent businesses
- The Booker Prize Archive was given on loan in 2003 to Oxford Brookes University where it is in the process of being catalogued
- Each year The Booker Prize Foundation pays for the production ofthe Man Booker Prize for Fiction shortlisted titles in Braille, Giant Print and Audio formats by the Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB). The Foundation is also working with the Sound Archive of the British Library onits 'National Life Stories - Authors' Lives' project by funding archive interviews with the 2007 and 2008 shortlisted authors,and anticipates this will continue in future years
For further information and press enquiries please contact
Eleanor Hutchins, Lucy Chavasse and Katy Macmillan Scott at Colman Getty
Tel: 020 7631 2666
