Lost Man Booker Prize
| Lost Man Booker Prize | |
|---|---|
| Description | Best full-length English novel from 1970 |
| Location | Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe |
| Presented by | Man Group |
| First awarded | 2010 |
| Website | themanbookerprize.com |
The Lost Man Booker Prize is a special edition of the Man Booker Prize awarded by a public vote in 2010 to a novel from 1970, described by The New York Times as "an act of literary reparation".[1] Books published in 1970 were not eligible for the Man Booker Prize due to a rules alteration; until 1970 the prize was awarded to books published in the previous year, whilst from 1971 onwards it was awarded to books published the same year as the award.
Literary agent and archivist Peter Straus has been credited with conceiving the idea of a Man Booker Prize for the missing year after wondering why Robertson Davies's 1970 novel Fifth Business had not been included in the Man Booker Prize shortlist.[2][3] A longlist of 21 titles was drawn up by organisers.[4] A shortlist of six was selected by Rachel Cooke, Katie Derham and Tobias Hill, and revealed in London on 25 March 2010 when voting commenced on the Man Booker Prize website.[2][5][6] Voting closes on 23 April 2010.[5] The winner is then due to be announced on 19 May 2010.[2]
Four of the shortlisted authors are currently dead, with only Nina Bawden and Shirley Hazzard alive to give their reactions to being included.[7] Bawden called it “astonishing actually [...] I thought I knew all my books backwards but I couldn’t remember what this one was about”.[7] Hazzard regretted that her husband, Francis Steegmuller, was no longer alive to witness the occasion.[7] J. G. Farrell won the 1973 Man Booker Prize for The Siege of Krishnapur.[3] Bawden and Muriel Spark were previously shortlisted.[3] Tobias Hill said Patrick White, noted for requesting that his name be struck off the 1979 Man Booker prize shortlist and known for his general disapproval of receiving awards, would be "spinning in his grave" if he won the Lost Man Booker Prize for The Vivisector.[8] However, White's literary executor, Barbara Mobbs, said he had left behind "no written evidence" that he would disapprove of a posthumous award and that she was "not going to run around saying take him out".[9]
Shortlist
The shortlist as announced on 25 March 2010:[citation needed]
- Nina Bawden — The Birds on the Trees (Virago)
- J. G. Farrell — Troubles (Phoenix)
- Shirley Hazzard — The Bay of Noon (Virago)
- Mary Renault — Fire From Heaven (Arrow)
- Muriel Spark — The Driver's Seat (Penguin)
- Patrick White — The Vivisector (Vintage)
References
- ^ Rich, Motoko (26 March 2010). "Shortlist Unveiled for 'Lost' Booker Prize". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c Flood, Alison (25 March 2010). "Lost Booker prize shortlist overlooks Iris Murdoch but plumps for Muriel Spark". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c "Dame Muriel Spark shortlisted for 'lost' Booker Prize". BBC. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
- ^ Goldsmith, Belinda (26 March 2010). "Four dead authors on shortlist for lost "Booker"". Reuters. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
- ^ "6 books from 1970 vie for lost Booker". CBC News. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
- ^ a b c Hoyle, Ben (26 March 2010). "Author waits to hear if she has won 'lost Booker' prize 40 years on". The Times. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Akbar, Arifa (26 March 2010). "Posthumous blow to the author who hated book prizes". The Independent. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Sorensen, Rosemary (27 March 2010). "Patrick White on `Lost Booker' shortlist". The Australian. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)
External links
- Related articles
- Tonkin, Boyd. "Casting a novel light on a supposed dark period". The Independent on Sunday. Friday, 26 March 2010.
- Cooke, Rachel. "The Lost Booker: a judge tells all". The Observer. Sunday 28 March 2010.