The Best of the Booker
The Best of the Booker is a special prize awarded in commemoration of the Booker Prize's 40th anniversary. Eligible books included the 41[A] winners of the Booker Prize since its inception in 1969.[1] The six shortlisted titles were announced on 12 May 2008 and were chosen by novelist Victoria Glendinning, broadcaster Mariella Frostrup and Professor of English at University College London John Mullan.[2] Among the nominees were the only two authors to have won the Booker twice, Peter Carey and J. M. Coetzee, nominated for their novels Oscar & Lucinda and Disgrace respectively.[2]
The winner, as chosen by a public vote, was Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, and was announced on July 10 at the London Literature Festival.[3] Midnight's Children not only won the 1981 Booker, but also the special 1993 Booker of Bookers prize, which commemorated the award's 25th anniversary.[1] This represented an unprecedented third Booker victory for Rushdie.
The shortlisted titles were:
- (1973) J. G. Farrell, The Siege of Krishnapur
- (1974) Nadine Gordimer, The Conservationist
- (1981) Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children
- (1988) Peter Carey, Oscar & Lucinda
- (1995) Pat Barker, The Ghost Road
- (1999) J. M. Coetzee, Disgrace
Notes
- A The Booker prize was shared between two authors in 1974 and 1992, thus generating 41 winners in 39 years.
