This year the Booker longlist features books from four continents, four Irish writers and 10 who have never been listed, which includes four debut novelists.
One of our favourites to win is Tan Twan Eng with his third novel The House of Doors. Twan Eng was born in Penang, Malaysia and his debut novel The Gift of Rain was longlisted for the Booker in 2007. His second novel, The Garden of Evening Mists, was shortlisted in 2012. Twan Eng divides his time between Kuala Lumpur and Cape Town.
Also on the list is A Spell of Good Things by Ayòbámi Adébáyò, who was born in Lagos and is only the fifth Nigerian author to be longlisted. Adébáyò has spent time in South Africa touring her 2017 debut, Stay With Me.
The longlist is diverse, maybe because of this year's judging panel. Novelist Esi Edugyan, twice-shortlisted for the prize, is chair. Edugyan said the longlist is defined by “the irreverence of new voices, by the iconoclasm of established ones”, adding that the books are “small revolutions, each seeking to energise and awaken the language”.
She is joined by actor, writer and director Adjoa Andoh; poet, lecturer, editor and critic Mary Jean Chan; professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University and Shakespeare specialist James Shapiro; and comedian, actor and writer Robert Webb.
“We read 163 novels across seven months, and in that time whole worlds opened to us. We were transported to early 20th-century Maine and Penang, to the vibrant streets of Lagos and the squash courts of London, to the blackest depths of the Atlantic, and into a dystopic Ireland where the terrifying loss of rights comes as a hard warning,” said Edugyan.
Here is the longlist of 13 books — called the “Booker Dozen”:
- Tan Twan Eng, The House of Doors
- Paul Murray, The Bee Sting
- Chetna Maroo, Western Lane
- Martin MacInnes, In Ascension
- Paul Lynch, Prophet Song
- Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow, All the Little Bird-Hearts
- Siân Hughes, Pearl
- Paul Harding, This Other Eden
- Elaine Feeney, How to Build a Boat
- Jonathan Escoffery, If I Survive You
- Sarah Bernstein, Study for Obedience
- Sebastian Barry, Old God’s Time
- Ayòbámi Adébáyò, A Spell of Good Things
The shortlist of six books will be announced on September 21. The winner of the £50,000 (about R1.2m) prize will be announced on November 26.
The Booker 2023 longlist is 'defined by its freshness'
The novels are 'small revolutions, each seeking to energise and awaken the language'
Image: The Booker Prize
This year the Booker longlist features books from four continents, four Irish writers and 10 who have never been listed, which includes four debut novelists.
One of our favourites to win is Tan Twan Eng with his third novel The House of Doors. Twan Eng was born in Penang, Malaysia and his debut novel The Gift of Rain was longlisted for the Booker in 2007. His second novel, The Garden of Evening Mists, was shortlisted in 2012. Twan Eng divides his time between Kuala Lumpur and Cape Town.
Also on the list is A Spell of Good Things by Ayòbámi Adébáyò, who was born in Lagos and is only the fifth Nigerian author to be longlisted. Adébáyò has spent time in South Africa touring her 2017 debut, Stay With Me.
The longlist is diverse, maybe because of this year's judging panel. Novelist Esi Edugyan, twice-shortlisted for the prize, is chair. Edugyan said the longlist is defined by “the irreverence of new voices, by the iconoclasm of established ones”, adding that the books are “small revolutions, each seeking to energise and awaken the language”.
She is joined by actor, writer and director Adjoa Andoh; poet, lecturer, editor and critic Mary Jean Chan; professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University and Shakespeare specialist James Shapiro; and comedian, actor and writer Robert Webb.
“We read 163 novels across seven months, and in that time whole worlds opened to us. We were transported to early 20th-century Maine and Penang, to the vibrant streets of Lagos and the squash courts of London, to the blackest depths of the Atlantic, and into a dystopic Ireland where the terrifying loss of rights comes as a hard warning,” said Edugyan.
Here is the longlist of 13 books — called the “Booker Dozen”:
The shortlist of six books will be announced on September 21. The winner of the £50,000 (about R1.2m) prize will be announced on November 26.
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