The
Booker
Prize

About the Prize

The Prize Everyone Has an Opinion About.

The Booker Prize has been awarded annually since 1969 to the best original novel written in English and published in the UK or Ireland. It is one of the most prestigious — and most argued-over — literary prizes in the world. The winner receives £50,000 and, more importantly, a sales boost that can transform a career.

Originally open only to Commonwealth and Irish writers, the prize controversially expanded in 2014 to any English-language novel published in the UK. That decision changed the character of the prize and the arguments about it have never really stopped. Scott covers the controversy as much as the books.

Each year a longlist of 12–13 titles (the "Booker Dozen") is announced in late July, a shortlist of six in September, and the winner in November. The judges change every year — which means the prize's character does too, and predicting it is half the fun.