On September 13, 2016, The Man Booker Prize team announced its 2016 shortlist. Are you asking what is the Man Booker Prize and why should I be interested? The Booker Prize as it is referred to in literary circles awards £50,000 to an adjudged best literary work of fiction published in the UK. Or in the words of 2015 winner, Marlon James “The Man Booker Prize suddenly increases your library by 13 books.”
These 13 books make up the Booker longlist. Authors such as Nadine Gordimer, Laila Lalami, and Chimamanda Adichie have been featured on the longlist. From the 13, a team of judges selects 6 books that are celebrated as the Booker shortlist. This is what you see on your favorite novels as a glowing stamp that says, “Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.” The shortlisted authors get £2,500 and all six authors receive increased readership due to the popularity of this prize.
In celebration of the influence the prize has had over the years on the careers of African authors, here is a list of writers from the continent that know what it feels like to make it to the Booker shortlist and in some cases win it all.
J.M Coetzee
South African born author, J.M. Coetzee holds a double record as the first African author to win this prestigious prize and the first author to win the Booker Prize twice. He first came on the Booker List with Life and Times of Michael K in 1983 and secured a 1999 win with Disgrace. This 76-year old writer also has a Noble Laureate Prize in Literature among his many accolades.
Ben Okri
Famous for his work on magical realism and folklore, Ben Okri made it to the Booker Shortlist in 1991. At 32, Okri became the youngest author to win The Booker Prize with The Famished Road. Ben Okri was born in Minna, Northern Nigeria, grew up and studied Comparative Literature in England, and lives in London.
Ahdaf Soueif
With The Map of Love, Cairo born author, Ahdaf Soueif made it to the 1999 shortlist. Educated in England, Soueif writes in English, but her Arabic-speaking readers do claim to hear the Arabic through her English. She shared the same shortlist with J.M. Coetzee, Anita Desai, Andrew O’Hagan, and Michael Frayn. Coetzee won the prize the year Soueif was shortlisted.
Achmat Dangor
This South African born author is known just as much for his literary work as he is for his political work. His novel, Bitter Fruit was inspired by the Truth and Reconciliation hearings he watched on TV where he saw Archbishop Desmond Tutu cry. As the name suggests, Dangor’s intention was to provide that framework for nations to come to terms with their troubled past. Bitter Fruit was shortlisted for the 2004 Booker Prize.
No Violet Bulawayo
Bulawayo’s debut novel, We Need New Names sprung her to the Booker Longlist and shortlist in 2013. It follows a group of children through neighborhoods in Bulawayo’s home country of Zimbabwe and has poised itself as a well-told coming-of-age story. Even though Bulawayo didn’t win the coveted prize that year, she went on to clinch the inaugural Etisalat Prize for Literature.
Chigozie Obioma
2015 was a year critically acclaimed to be the Booker’s Prize most diverse inclusion in terms of geography, culture, and writing style. Nigerian born, Chigozie Obioma with his debut novel, The Fisherman scaled through the longlist, and was among the tightly contended shortlist that featured Tom McCarthy, Hanya Yanagihara, Anne Tyler, Sunjeev Sahota, and Jamaican author, Marlon James, who won the prize.
The 2016 Man Booker Prize Overall Winner will be announced at a black-tie dinner in London’s Guildhall on Tuesday October 25th, 2016.
