The shortlist for the Booker Prize 2024 has been announced, and the literary world is gleeful with the announcements and nominations. For the first time since its inception, the Booker Prize shortlist has 5 women authors in the nomination and one male author, which is being hailed by social media as the ‘Time for women to rule!’
This year, the 6 books shortlisted for Booker Prize are –
‘James’ by Percival Everett
‘Orbital’ by Samantha Harvey
‘Creation Lake’ by Rachel Kushner
‘Held’ by Anne Michaels
‘The Safekeep’ by Yael van der Wouden
‘Stone Yard Devotional’ by Charlotte Wood
The winner for this year will be announced on November 12, 2024.
What did the judges say?
This year, a 5 judge panel was put in place to make the decision regarding the shortlist. The jury members are – Artist and author Edmund de Waal; award-winning novelist Sara Collins; Fiction Editor of the Guardian, Justine Jordan; world-renowned writer and professor Yiyun Li; and musician, composer and producer Nitin Sawhney.
About ‘James by Percival Everett’, the Jury said “A powerful, genre-defying, revisionist exploration of slavery, identity and the pursuit of freedom that subverts all expectations and further establishes Percival Everett as a masterful storyteller.”
About ‘Orbital’ by Samantha Harvey, the Jury said “This brief yet miraculously expansive novel covers a 24-hour period in the lives of six astronauts aboard the International Space Station as they observe the deeply moving spectacle of the earth beneath them.”
Summarising ‘Creation Lake’ by Rachel Kushner, the panel said “Sadie Smith, an ice-cold American spy, thinks that infiltrating a ragtag group of eco-activists in rural France will be no challenge to her impressive capabilities, but she gets drawn into the deepest questions of human history and individual agency.”
When asked about ‘Held’ by Anne Michaels, the Jury said “Starting with a wounded soldier on a French battlefield, this powerful and lyrical kaleidoscope of a novel is created from the scattered images and memories of four generations of a family across all kinds of lived experiences.”
About ‘The Safekeep’ by Yael van der Wouden, the Jury said “Set in the Netherlands after the war, The Safekeep is a compelling story of obsession and secrets, exploring the stories that are kept from us as children, and the stories that we tell to ourselves about our own hidden desires.”
And when asked about ‘Stone Yard Devotional’ by Charlotte Wood, the Jury said “Stone Yard Devotional is about one woman’s inward journey to make sense of the world and her life when conflicts and chaos are abundant in both realms. Set in a monastery in rural Australia, the novel is a fierce and philosophical interrogation of history, memory, nature, and human existence.”
About the Booker Prize
The Booker Prize is a literary award that is awarded to authors who have produced and written outstanding fiction and are published in the UK. It was started back in 1969, and has a panel of judges that select about 12-13 books for the Longlist, and 5 for the Shortlist.
The winner receives £50,000 (INR 55,32,555) and a global stage for their works.
Last year the Booker Prize was won by Paul Lynch for his novel ‘Prophet Song’.
This year, the 6 books shortlisted for Booker Prize are –
‘James’ by Percival Everett
‘Orbital’ by Samantha Harvey
‘Creation Lake’ by Rachel Kushner
‘Held’ by Anne Michaels
‘The Safekeep’ by Yael van der Wouden
‘Stone Yard Devotional’ by Charlotte Wood
The winner for this year will be announced on November 12, 2024.
What did the judges say?
This year, a 5 judge panel was put in place to make the decision regarding the shortlist. The jury members are – Artist and author Edmund de Waal; award-winning novelist Sara Collins; Fiction Editor of the Guardian, Justine Jordan; world-renowned writer and professor Yiyun Li; and musician, composer and producer Nitin Sawhney.
About ‘James by Percival Everett’, the Jury said “A powerful, genre-defying, revisionist exploration of slavery, identity and the pursuit of freedom that subverts all expectations and further establishes Percival Everett as a masterful storyteller.”
About ‘Orbital’ by Samantha Harvey, the Jury said “This brief yet miraculously expansive novel covers a 24-hour period in the lives of six astronauts aboard the International Space Station as they observe the deeply moving spectacle of the earth beneath them.”
Summarising ‘Creation Lake’ by Rachel Kushner, the panel said “Sadie Smith, an ice-cold American spy, thinks that infiltrating a ragtag group of eco-activists in rural France will be no challenge to her impressive capabilities, but she gets drawn into the deepest questions of human history and individual agency.”
When asked about ‘Held’ by Anne Michaels, the Jury said “Starting with a wounded soldier on a French battlefield, this powerful and lyrical kaleidoscope of a novel is created from the scattered images and memories of four generations of a family across all kinds of lived experiences.”
About ‘The Safekeep’ by Yael van der Wouden, the Jury said “Set in the Netherlands after the war, The Safekeep is a compelling story of obsession and secrets, exploring the stories that are kept from us as children, and the stories that we tell to ourselves about our own hidden desires.”
And when asked about ‘Stone Yard Devotional’ by Charlotte Wood, the Jury said “Stone Yard Devotional is about one woman’s inward journey to make sense of the world and her life when conflicts and chaos are abundant in both realms. Set in a monastery in rural Australia, the novel is a fierce and philosophical interrogation of history, memory, nature, and human existence.”
About the Booker Prize
The Booker Prize is a literary award that is awarded to authors who have produced and written outstanding fiction and are published in the UK. It was started back in 1969, and has a panel of judges that select about 12-13 books for the Longlist, and 5 for the Shortlist.
The winner receives £50,000 (INR 55,32,555) and a global stage for their works.
Last year the Booker Prize was won by Paul Lynch for his novel ‘Prophet Song’.
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