Stack shot of shortlisted titles

Man Booker shortlist available in braille and large print

RNIB produces books at winner announcement stage

8 October 2009

For the first time, the Man Booker Prize shortlist, including Hilary Mantel's winning title Wolf Hall, was available to blind and partially sighted readers. The RNIB produced the books in braille, giant print and Talking Book formats at the time the winner was announced.

This year the Man Booker Prize included a clause requiring publishers to provide an electronic file of each long-listed title to the RNIB, so that production of the shortlisted books was possible as soon as the announcement was made.

RNIB's Julianne Marriott commented to BookBrunch,  

'The Man Booker Prize has taken a significant step to bring new writing to blind and partially sighted people, so they can read the books that everyone is talking about. Reading opens a world of imagination that is often taken for granted, but the reality is that 96% of books are never made available in a format that can be read by people with sight problems. At RNIB, we applaud the continued commitment of the Man Booker Prize to blind and partially sighted people's right to read and invite other book prizes to follow their lead and work with us.'

Man Group plc Charitable Trust has paid for the production of the Talking Book versions in previous years and the Booker Prize Foundation has paid for the braille and giant print versions.

The Man Booker Prize Fiction at its finest