Naughtie to Chair 2009 Man Booker
Radio 4 host to chair annual prize
James Naughtie, one of the country's best-known broadcasters, is to be the Chair of the judges for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2009, it is announced today, Thursday 27 November.
Ion Trewin, Literary Director, comments: ‘I am delighted that Jim will be chairing the judges for the 2009 prize. As host of Radio 4's monthly Book Club he displays his passion for fiction, and as presenter of Today on BBC Radio 4 he is no stranger to fervent debate, even to controversy - both admirable qualifications for the role.'
During his career, Naughtie has anchored BBC radio coverage of British and American presidential elections and has written and introduced numerous documentaries and programmes for BBC Radio and television. As an author, he has written two books on contemporary politics, The Rivals - The Story of a Political Marriage, and The Accidental American - Tony Blair and the Presidency. His book, The Making of Music, based on his Radio 4 series, an account of the Western classical tradition, was published in paperback this year. James is connected with a number of arts organisations and charities, is a member of the advisory board of the Edinburgh International Festival, a patron of the Prince of Wales Foundation for Children and the Arts, a trustee of the Classical Opera Company, a trustee of the Art Fund Prize for museums and galleries and a patron of Southbank Sinfonia. In 2008 he was appointed Chancellor of the University of Stirling. He is also a former chairman of judges of the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-fiction.
The longlist, ‘The Booker Dozen' - the 12 (or 13) titles under serious consideration for the prize - will be announced in early August. The shortlist of six books will be announced in early September. The Man Booker Prize 2009 winner will be televised as live on the BBC Ten O'Clock News at the Guildhall at an awards ceremony on Tuesday 6th October 2009.
The full panel of judges will be announced in December.
For up to date information and photographs of the judging panel,
please visit http://www.themanbookerprize.com/
or contact Jane Acton or Jill Cotton at Colman Getty
on 020 7631 2666 or jane@colmangetty.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
- The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (Atlantic Books) won the Man Booker Prize 2008
- Photographs of James Naughtie are available from Colman Getty
- 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 website: http://www.themanbookerprize.com/. It is a major media and information tool which is accessed worldwide with up to the minute information about both the annual Man Booker Prize and the biennial man Booker International Prize. Featuring news, interviews and written pieces as well as a lively forum and full history archive of the prize, the site is used by journalists, bloggers and general members of the public on a daily basis.
- 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, Chair (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; 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. Martyn Goff CBE, former Man Booker Prize administrator, has recently been appointed President of the Foundation.
- Man Group plc has sponsored the Man Booker Prize since 2002 and is this year celebrating its own notable anniversary - its 225th.
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 around USD61 billion* and employs 1,800 people in 13 countries worldwide.
The original business was founded in 1783. Today, Man Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is ranked in the top 50 companies of the FTSE 100 index, with a market capitalisation of around USD5.5 billion. Man Group is also a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the FTSE4Good Index
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. In the year to March 2008 the Man Group plc Charitable Trust gave 12% of its $12m charitable budget to charities concerned with improving literacy. A major contribution in the literacy category was a £1m pledge to the ‘Every Child a Reader' reading recovery programme spread over three years from 2006. Other sizeable donations were made to Dyslexia Action and Kids Company Reading Recovery Teachers, whilst smaller contributions were made to Write to Life, Bookaid International, Volunteer Reading Help, The Shannon Trust, RNIB Talking Books and St. Petrock's (Exeter). Further information can be found at www.mangroupplc.com.
* Estimated at the beginning of November 2008
- 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 now resides.
- Each year The Booker Prize Foundationpays forthe 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 withshortlisted authors.
