2009 Man Booker Prize longlist announced
Judges announce longlist for 2009 prize
The judges for the 2009 Man Booker Prize for Fiction today, Tuesday 28 July, announce the longlist for the prize, the leading literary award in the English speaking world.
A total of 132 books, 11 of which were called in by the judges, were considered for the ‘Man Booker Dozen' longlist of 13 books.
The longlist includes:
Author Title Publisher
Byatt, AS The Children's Book Random House - Chatto and Windus
Coetzee, J M Summertime Random House - Harvill Secker
Foulds, Adam The Quickening Maze Random House - Jonathan Cape
Hall, Sarah How to paint a dead man Faber and Faber
Harvey, Samantha The Wilderness Random House - Jonathan Cape
Lever, James Me Cheeta HarperCollins - Fourth Estate
Mantel, Hilary Wolf Hall HarperCollins - Fourth Estate
Mawer, Simon The Glass Room Little, Brown
O'Loughlin, Ed Not Untrue & Not Unkind Penguin - Ireland
Scudamore, James Heliopolis Random House - Harvill Secker
Toibin, Colm Brooklyn Penguin - Viking
Trevor, William Love and Summer Penguin - Viking
Waters, Sarah The Little Stranger Little, Brown - Virago
The chair of judges, James Naughtie, said today:
"The five Man Booker judges have settled on thirteen novels as the longlist for this year's prize. We believe it to be one of the strongest lists in recent memory, with two former winners, four past-shortlisted writers, three first-time novelists and a span of styles and themes that make this an outstandingly rich fictional mix.
"We considered more than 130 novels (including the work of nine former winners) and found ourselves travelling in a fertile landscape. We kept discovering new talent as well as reacquainting ourselves with familiar writers, and emerged with a feeling that we were part of an exceptional year.
"Our fiction is in the hands of original and dedicated writers with fresh and appealing voices. This is an eclectic list, taking us from the court of Henry VIII to the Hollywood jungle, with stops along the way in a nineteenth century Essex asylum, an African warzone and a futuristic Brazilian city among other places.
"These are books that readers will want to get their hands on."
The 2009 shortlist will be announced on Tuesday 8 September at a press conference at Man Group's London headquarters. The winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2009 will be revealed on Tuesday 6 October at a dinner at London's Guildhall and will be broadcast live on the BBC Ten O'Clock News.
Chaired by broadcaster and author James Naughtie, the 2009 judges are Lucasta Miller, biographer and critic; Michael Prodger, Literary Editor of The Sunday Telegraph; Professor John Mullan, academic, journalist and broadcaster and Sue Perkins, comedian, journalist and broadcaster.
To celebrate the longlist announcement, the 2009 Man Booker Prize will be showcased as part of the One & Other project on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, London. On Tuesday 11 August at 11am, a Man Booker Prize enthusiast will give readings from all 13 longlisted titles and then give away copies of the books.
For further information about the prize please visit www.themanbookerprize.com
For all press enquiries please contact
Lucy Chavasse or Jill Cotton at Colman Getty
Tel: 020 7631 2666
E-mail: lucy@colmangetty.co.uk or jill@colmangetty.co.uk
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Notes to Editors:
- The 2009 longlist consists of 13 books. The rules state that a longlist of twelve or thirteen books - ‘The Man Booker Dozen' - followed by a shortlist of six are selected. Each year UK publishers may submit two full-length novels published between 1 October 2008 and 30 September 2009 and in addition any title by an author who has previously won the Booker or Man Booker Prize may be submitted. Any book by an author who has been shortlisted within the last five years is also entitled to automatic entry.
- 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 White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (Atlantic Books) won the Man Booker Prize 2008. The British publisher's edition of the book has sold over half a million copies and is being translated into 39 different languages.
- 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; Peter Kemp, fiction editor, The Sunday Times; Nigel Newton, publisher; Fiammetta Rocco, literary editor, The Economist (Man Booker International Prize administrator); Eve Smith (Company Secretary, the Booker Prize Foundation); and Robert Topping; Topping & Company Booksellers.
- 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.
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's funds under management at 30 June 2009 were $43.3 billion.
The original business was founded in 1783. Today, Man Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100 Index with a market capitalisation of around £4 billion. Man Group is 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). 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
- 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.
