FAQs
Want to find out more about the Man Booker Prize? See our most Frequently Asked Questions below.
Who is Man Group plc?
Man Group is a leading global provider of alternative investment products and solutions. The Group employs over 1,600 people in 13 countries with key centres in London and Pfäffikon (Switzerland).
For more information please visit: www.mangroupplc.com
What is the Booker Prize Foundation?
In April 2002 The Big Food Group plc announced that new arrangements had been made for the Booker Prize to protect its long-term future. The Big Food Group transferred the Booker Prize, with certain safeguards, to a new registered charity, the Booker Prize Foundation (BPF), which would be responsible for its organisation and operation.
The historic archive (which chronicles the progress of the award since it was established in 1968) was also transferred to the BPF . It is the intention of both The Big Food Group and BPF that the independence, integrity, importance and name of the Booker Prize should be preserved and enhanced.
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, Dr 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
Who is Booker plc?
Booker is the largest cash & carry company in the UK with 177 branches nationwide and a turnover of c£3.5 billion. It is the key link between branded manufacturers and the independent sector. In June 2000, Booker plc merged with Iceland plc to form Iceland Group plc, now known as The Big Food Group plc. The Big Food Group plc employs 30,000 people in the UK and has an annual turnover of c£5.5 billion. Group activity is centred on four areas: food retailing (Iceland Foods plc); home shopping (Iceland.co.uk); food service (Woodward Foodservice Ltd); and food wholesaling (Booker Cash & Carry Ltd).
Who is eligible for the prize?
Any full-length novel, written by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland and published this year, is eligible for the prize. The novel must be an original work in English (not a translation) and must not be self-published.
How are the judges chosen?
First, there is an Advisory Committee, which includes an author, two publishers, an agent, a bookseller, a librarian and the Prize Administrator with the chairman appointed by the Booker Prize Foundation. The judging panel, which changes each year, is selected by the Advisory Committee. A judge is rarely enrolled a second time.
Every effort is made to achieve a balance between the judges of gender, articulacy and role, so that the panel includes a literary critic, an academic, a literary editor, a novelist and a major figure.
What difference does winning the prize make?
Winning the Man Booker Prize is the ultimate accolade for many writers. As 1996 winner Graham Swift commented, "Prizes don't make writers and writers don't write to win prizes, but in the near-glut of literary awards now on offer, the Booker remains special. It's the one which, if we're completely honest, we most covet."
Every year the Man Booker Prize winner is guaranteed a huge increase in sales, firstly in hardback and then in paperback. There is spin-off too in global sales of books, in future publishing contracts and in film and TV rights. Besides the fortune, the winner of the Man Booker Prize can also be sure of fame. The announcement of the winner is covered by television, radio and press worldwide.
What do the winners spend their prize money on?
The question which every journalist asks every Man Booker Prize winner is, "What are you planning to spend your prize money on?" There have been many different answers over the three decades of the prize. A.S.Byatt, winning with Possession in 1990, announced that she now had the money she needed to build her longed-for swimming pool in Provence."
