The expanded prize will recognise, celebrate and embrace authors writing in English, whether from Chicago, Sheffield
or Shanghai. ‘We are embracing the freedom of English in all its vigour, its vitality, its versatility and its glory wherever
it may be. We are abandoning the constraints of geography and national boundaries’
The
trustees of the Booker Prize Foundation announced that the Man Booker Prize is to expand eligibility for entry
for future prizes to include
novels originally written in English and published in the UK,
regardless of the nationality of their author. This change will come
into effect for the 2014 prize.
The
Man Booker Prize, which was launched in 1969, is widely regarded as the
most important literary award in the English-speaking world. But,
paradoxically, it has
not allowed full international participation to all those writing
literary fiction in English.
The
trustees have made their decision to expand the prize after an
extensive investigation and evaluation, with the help of specialist
independent consultants. Research
and consultation began in 2011 and, over the following eighteen months,
the views of writers, readers, publishers, agents, booksellers and
others were canvassed on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond.
Initially,
the thinking was that the Booker Prize Foundation might set up a new
prize specifically for US writers. But at the end of a lengthy process,
the trustees
were wary of jeopardising or diluting the existing Man Booker Prize. Instead, they agreed that the prize, which for over 40 years has been
the touchstone for high quality literary fiction written in English,
would enhance its prestige and reputation through
expansion, rather than by the setting up of a separate prize.
The
basic structure of the prize (the number of judges; the fact that only
UK publishers can submit; the requirement that all the judges consider
every book submitted;
the contemporaneous nature of the submissions; the longlist and the
shortlist) will be maintained. However, mindful of the increased
pressure that the expansion will place on some publishers of literary
fiction in deciding which books to submit, the trustees
have approved a modified basis for submissions to recognise literary
achievement; this will be by reference to longlisting within the
previous five years (details of this process are below). At the same
time, the prize will remain open to all UK publishers,
existing and emerging, all of whom will be entitled to enter at least
one novel as well as proposing up to five other novels for the judges to
consider.
The
trustees are confident that their decisions are in keeping with the
increasingly international nature of publishing and reading. They
believe that these changes
will encourage traditional and new publishers alike, and bring yet more
excellent literary fiction to the attention of readers around the
world.
The
changes to the annual Man Booker Prize will in no way affect the
structure and objectives of the Man Booker International Prize, which
recognises a writer for
his or her achievement in fiction. It is awarded every two years to a
living author who has published fiction either originally in English or
whose work is generally available in translation in the English
language.
Jonathan Taylor, chairman of the trustees, comments: ‘By
including writers from around the world to compete alongside
Commonwealth and Irish writers, the Man Booker Prize is reinforcing its
standing as the most important
literary award in the English-speaking world.'
‘We
are excited by the opportunities that extending the Man Booker Prize
will bring for readers and writers worldwide. The expanded prize will
recognise, celebrate
and embrace authors writing in English, whether from Chicago, Sheffield
or Shanghai. The wide geographic spread of the year's shows that this
is a process already underway. We are embracing the freedom of English
in all its vigour, its vitality, its versatility
and its glory wherever it may be. We are abandoning the constraints of
geography and national boundaries.'
‘The
number of books publishers are allowed to submit has also long been a
concern. Our new model, in recognising literary achievement, should
encourage the traditional
literary publishing houses while ensuring novels from new green-shoot
publishers continue to be included.’
Manny Roman, CEO of the Man Group comments: ‘Man
is delighted to be the long-term sponsor of the pre-eminent prize for
literary fiction and we welcome its extension to include works in
English from all round
the world. This promises to enrich the debate around quality fiction.’
