Read the article about the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and then answer the following questions.
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction
When did you last read a novel that you thought was really good? And what does ‘a good book’ mean to you? Well, this is what the judges for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction have to decide each year, when they are faced with a large pile of books and have to choose which one should win the prize.
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction, previously known as the Booker-McConnell Prize and commonly known as the Booker Prize, is awarded annually. The prize was established in 1968, and the first novel chosen for the prize was announced in 1969. Originally, the prize was given for books published before the year in which the prize was awarded, but in 1971 the rules changed. A book now has to be published in the same year as the prize is awarded in order to be considered as a possible winner.
Despite several other changes, the objectives have remained the same since the prize began. One is to encourage people to read more quality fiction, and many in the industry believe that the interest in the prize means this is achieved. Another intention is to significantly increase the sales of the winning book. This benefits not only the author but the book-selling trade as well.
The annual process of choosing a winning book, which must be a full-length novel, takes the best part of a year. It starts in November, when the names of the judges are announced. Then, any author who wants their book to be considered for the prize has to submit an application form by the following March. Judges then have until July to identify 12 or 13 books, all of which must have been published in the UK, from which the winning book will eventually be chosen. This selection of titles is known as the longlist, and it is reduced to a shortlist of six books by September. Finally, the winner is revealed at a formal dinner, one of the highlights of the publishing year. This ceremony, held in October, is even broadcast live on television and radio. In the first few years, each of the winners of the Booker Prize was awarded £5000. The prize money was doubled in 1978 to £10 000, and currently it is £50 000. Each of the authors on the shortlist receives £2500 and a specially produced edition of their book.
There is always a great deal of interest in the authors, as well as in the winning books. When Ben Okri won in 1991, he became the youngest winner at the age of 32, but then Eleanor Catton replaced him in 2013 with her novel, ‘The Luminaries’. In contrast with the 132 pages of the shortest winning novel, ‘Offshore’, hers was the longest novel to win, at 832 pages. The first woman to receive the prize was Bernice Rubens, in 1970, for her novel, ‘The Elected Member’. Although authors come from different backgrounds and have different nationalities, they all fulfil the requirement that their books are in English, and in addition, none of them have been translated from another language.
In addition to the annual Booker Prize, several other special prizes have been awarded including the Booker of Bookers Prize in 1993, and The Best of the Booker, in 2008. The former was for the 25th anniversary of the prize, and the latter was to celebrate the 40th anniversary. For this special occasion, the public were asked to vote for the winner.
So, if you were asked to choose the next prize-winning novel, which one would it be?
In which year was the first Man Booker Prize awarded?