The Booker Prize, first awarded in 1969, recognizes the best novel written in English and published in the UK or Ireland. The 2023 prize considers books published between October 1st 2022 and September 30th 2023. They have just announced their 13-book longlist. The 6-book shortlist will come out September 21st, with the winner announced November 26th. The winner will receive a £50,000 prize.
This year’s judges are Mary Jean Chan, James Shapiro, Esi Edugyan, Robert Webb and Adjoa Andoh. They considered 163 books before narrowing it down to these 13. Esi Edugyan, chair of the Booker Prize 2023 judges, said,
“The list is defined by its freshness – by the irreverence of new voices, by the iconoclasm of established ones. All 13 novels cast new light on what it means to exist in our time, and they do so in original and thrilling ways. Their range is vast, both in subject and form: they shocked us, made us laugh, filled us with anguish, but above all they stayed with us. This is a list to excite, challenge, delight, a list to bring wonder. The novels are small revolutions, each seeking to energise and awaken the language. Together – whether historical or contemporary – they offer startling portraits of the current.”
Book Prize 2023 Longlist
The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow
Pearl by Siân Hughes
This Other Eden by Paul Harding
How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney
If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein
Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry
A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
Check out more about the longlist at The Booker Prize website.
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