Julian Barnes Wins Man Booker Prize 2011

Photo by Tim Valentine

After four nominations, Julian Barnes has finally won the Booker Prize 2011 for his latest novel, The Sense of an Ending.

The novella has been praised for it's portrayal of the fluidity of human memories and ageing. Narrator, Tony Webster, is forced to re-evaluate his youthful memories when he is bequeathed an old friend's diary.

This year's panel  has faced some controversy for the populist tone of it's list. The Man Booker has traditonally been associated with so called Literary Fiction. Head of this year's judging panel, Dame Stella Rimington, has been repeatedly forced to defend her panel's decisions: a fact she alluded to in her speech as she presented this year's award.

Despite criticism from some corners, the shortlist has proved to be wildly popular with readers, breaking previous year's figures to be the best selling Booker shortlist ever.

Barnes was awarded the £50,000 prize at a ceremony tonight at the London Guild Hall.

Bulwer-Lytton Worst Writing Award Announced

'It was a dark and stormy night......' Photo by Ambro

Imagine sweating for years over your magnum opus: painstakingly choosing each comma, each word, even which font your masterwork will be presented to the world in. Sounds like hard work doesn’t it? Spare a thought for American Authour, Sue Fondrie, who this week was awarded the Bulwer-Lytton prize for the worst sentence published this year.

Although the name of the prize is not as well known as the Booker or the Costa Award, nearly everyone can quote the beginning of the first sentence to ever win the ‘accolade’:

‘It was a dark and stormy night when….’

This line opened the 1830 novel, Paul Clifford written by English poet and novelist, Edward George Bulwer-Lytton. The prize was set up in 1980 by the English department of San Jose State University and named in Bulwer-Lytton’s honour.

This year’s ‘winner’ was duly awarded the prize for the following sentence:

‘Cheryl’s mind turned like the vanes of a wind-powered turbine, chopping her sparrow-like thoughts into bloody pieces that fell onto a growing pile of forgotten memories.’

Fondrie’s sentence is the shortest to ever win the top prize.

What do you think? Have you heard worse? Answers on a postcard (or you can just leave a comment below and save yourself the postage).

Man Booker Prize 2011 Longlist Announced

The longlist for the 2011 Man Booker Prize was unveiled today. This year’s judging panel, chaired by former Director- General of MI5 Dame Stella Rimington, have chosen an eclectic thirteen titles from one hundred and thirty eight candidates including four debut novelists, three Canadian authors, three publishers who have never before had a title nominated, one previous winner in Alan Hollinghurst and three times (now four times) nominated Julian Barnes.

Judges Stella Rimmington, editor of the Spectator Matthew d’Ancona, author Susan Hill, journalist and politician Chris Mullin and the Daily Telegraph’s Gaby Wood had the task of choosing the final diverse thirteen titles. Dame Stella commented:

'We are delighted by the quality and breadth of our long list, which emerged from an impassioned discussion. The list ranges from the Wild West to multi-ethnic London via post-Cold War Moscow and Bucharest, and includes four first novels.' 

Only four of the thirteen authors have featured on the long list previously: Hollinghurst who won the award in 2004 for The Line of Beauty, literary favourite Julian Barnes and Irish writer Sebastian Barry, who won the Costa Prize in 2009 with The Secret Scripture. Book makers are currently favouring Hollinghurst’s latest novel The Stranger’s Child to win the prize, offering odds of 5/1.

This year’s longlist also promotes a marked shift towards smaller publishers, reflecting the changing face of the publishing industry. Welsh publisher Seren Books, Oxfordshire based Oneworld Publications and the Scottish Sandstone Press each have a title present in the longlist, drawing unprecedented attention to the blossoming trade in alternative and independent publishing.

The 2010 prize was awarded to Howard Jacobson for his comic The Finkler Question. The 2011 short list will be announced on the 6^th of September.

The Man Booker Prize Longlist 2011

• Julian Barnes - The Sense of an Ending - (Jonathan Cape -Random House) 3 previous nominations.
• Sebastian Barry - On Canaan’s Side -  (Faber) 2 previous nominations.
• Carol Birch -Jamrach’s Menagerie - (Canongate Books) 1 previous nomination
• Patrick deWitt - The Sisters Brothers - ( Granta)
• Esi Edugyan - Half Blood Blues - (Serpent’s Tail- Profile)
• Yvette Edwards - A Cupboard Full of Coats - (Oneworld) Debut Novel
• Alan Hollinghurst - The Stranger’s Child - (Picador- Pan Macmillan) 2 previous nominations
• Stephen Kelman - Pigeon English - (Bloomsbury) Debut Novel
• Patrick McGuinness - The Last Hundred Days - (Seren Books) Debut Novel
• A.D. Miller – Snowdrops - (Atlantic) Debut Novel
• Alison Pick - Far to Go - (Headline Review)
• Jane Rogers - The Testament of Jessie Lamb - (Sandstone Press)
• D.J. Taylor - Derby Day - (Chatto & Windus- Random House)

Jack Reacher Scoops Lee Child Crime Writer of the Year Award

Photo by Steve_C on Flickr

Lee Child has been named as Crime Writer of the year award at the Harrogate Literary Festival with his latest novel 61 Hours.

The popular writer of the Jack Reacher series of books was honoured by the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel award this weekend. The fictional American crime detective has cemented Child’s reputation as a class crime writer; a copy of one of his Reacher series is sold every few seconds. Child is also the first British author to have sold over a million Amazon Kindle e-books. This popularity is set to soar higher with the release of a film based on the first Reacher book, One Shot, starring Tom Cruise as the hero.

It is the first time Child has won the award, beating the likes of twice previous winner Mark Billingham, Tess Gerritsen and Linwood Barclay.

The event also saw PD James honoured with a lifetime achievement award for her outstanding contribution to crime writing. Baroness James has been publishing crime novels for over fifty years with the her most famous detective, Adam Dalgliesh , featuring in her debut, Cover Her Face published in 1962.

Samuel Johnson Prize Awarded to Mao's Great Famine

Mao's image still looms large in modern China (photo by bokurdotnet)

The BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non Fiction has been awarded to Frank Dikotter for his seminal work on the life and of Chairman Mao, titled Mao’s Great Famine. The Dutch historian beat five other short listed titles including a biography of Caravaggio and a study of Bismarck’s life to claim the £20,000 prize.

Focusing on the so called ‘Great Leap Forward’ which took place between 1958 and 1962, the book studies Mao Zedong’s attempt to ‘overtake’ the British Economy within a fifteen year period which resulted in widespread hardship, famine and directly led to the death of over 45 million people.

Chair of this year’s judging panel, Ben Macintyre, describes the Mao’s Great Famine as ‘ an epic record of human folly’, going as far as to claim that the study ‘casts Chinese history in a radical new light, with a devastating psychological portrait of the dictator’.

The prize is the largest awarded for non fiction within the UK and is open to all non fiction genres.

Each of the short listed authors (see below) also received £1000 in prize money for their titles.

Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2011 Shortlist was:

• Mao’s Great Famine by Frank Dikötter (Bloomsbury)
• Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane by Andrew Graham Dixon (Allen Lane)
• Liberty’s Exiles by Maya Jasanoff (HarperPress)
• The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley (Fourth Estate)
• Bismarck: A Life by Jonathan Steinberg (Oxford University Press)
• Reprobates by John Stubbs (Viking)

Desmond Elliot Prize Awarded to 'Saraswati Park'

Anjali Joseph has been announced as the winner of this year’s Desmond Elliot Prize for her novel ‘Saraswati Park’. One of the newest awards on the literary scene since its foundation in 2007, the Prize has supported debut writers with its £10,000 award. Set up in honour of former publisher and literary agent, Desmond Elliot, the prize is awarded annually to a novel with ‘depth and breadth with a compelling narrative. 

 

Set amongst the middle-class suburbs of Bombay, 'Saraswati Park'  follows the lives of letter writer Mohan, his wife Lakshmi and their 19 year old nephew Ashish as they deal with the trials and tibualations of relationships in their modern lives. The novel has already received critical acclaim from the international press. Joseph, a former editor for Elle Magazine in India, is now writing her second novel.

The Tiger's Wife Wins Orange Prize 2011

The winner of the 2011 Orange Prize was announced this week as The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht.

The debut novel of the Serbian/American author, The Tiger’s Wife beat Emma Donoghue’s Room (the favourite to win) to the title and has made Obreht the youngest winner of the prize across its sixteen year history. Obreht has previously been named as one of the New Yorker magazine’s Top Twenty writers under forty.

Pulling together a series of stories around Natalia, a Doctor who has just lost her grandfather and set in the Balkans, the book links the story of an escaped tiger who pays nocturnal visits to a village and a search for a so called ‘deathless man’.

Judging panel chair, Bettany Hughes, described the book as ‘exceptional’:

‘By skilfully spinning a series of magical tales she has managed to bring the tragedy of chronic Balkan conflict thumping into our front rooms with a bittersweet vivacity. The book reminds us how easily we can slip into barbarity, but also of the breadth and depth of human love.’

Obreht is still digesting the win, stating in an interview with the Guardian that ‘I don’t feel like I’ve earned it karmically’. Publisher Orion have announced that they have received ‘five figures’ worth of orders for the title and are anticipating healthy sales numbers for the paperback, which, according to the Bookseller, should be available from the 23^rd of June.

The annual Orange Prize of £30,000 is awarded for the best novel written in English by a female author, published within the last year.

EDIT 4TH NOVEMBER 2011:
ReaditRibbit has moved! Check out the new blog here

Oddest Book Title Announced

Picture by Photostock  * 

The winner of 2011’s Oddest Book Title prize was announced at the end of March.

Managing a Dental Practice the Genghis Khan Way, by Michael R Young, was duly awarded the prize after Bookseller readers gave 58% of their votes to the unique guide on managing a dental practice.

Previous winners of the prize include Living with Crazy Buttocks, Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers and Highlights in the History of Concrete.

* Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Le Carré Turns Down Booker

Photo by  nuttakit via freedigitalphotos.net

The Man Booker International Prize finalist list was announced today and the prestigious award has already been plunged into controversy.

Finalist John le Carré , best known for his spy and espionage books including The Spy Who Came In from the Cold, has asked to be withdrawn from consideration for the bi annual award.

In a statement released earlier today, le Carré said, ‘I am enormously flattered to be named as a finalist for the  2011 Man Booker International prize. However, I do not compete for literary prizes and have therefore asked for my name to be withdrawn.’

Awarded every two years since its creation in 2005 to a living author whose work is readily available in the English language, the winner, chosen at the discretion of the judging panel, receives a £60,000 prize.

Chair of this year’s judging panel, Rick Gekoski, has politely declined his request.

‘John le Carré's name will, of course, remain on the list.’ He said. ‘We are disappointed that he wants to withdraw from further consideration because we are great admirers of his work.’

The winner of the prize will be announced at the Sydney Writer’s Festival on the 18^th of May with the ceremony being held in London this June.

Man Booker International Finalist List 2011

•   Wang Ani
•  Juan Goytisolo
•  James Kelman
•  John le Carré
•  Amin Maalouf
•  David Malouf
•  Daci Maraini
•  Rohinton Mistry 
• Philip Pullman
• Marilynne Robinson  
• Philip Roth  
• Su Tong
• Anne Tyler

What Was the Oddest Book Title of Last Year?

Have you ever come across a bizarrely titled book whilst perusing the shelves of your local library or bookshop? Do you make a habit of searching out these strangely named titles? If this sounds like you, you’ll want to keep an eye on the proceedings for this year’s Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of 2010.

Celebrating all the weird and wacky titles published last year, the prize has been running since 1978 and although there is no reward as such, the publicity given to the winner is worth its weight in gold.  

This year’s shortlist entries are as eclectic as they are eccentric and include a Mills and Boon romance, a tome on the personality of dogs and a socio-economic guide to modern China. All very standard you might say but it is the titles which make these books stand out, as you can see by the shortlist below.

8th International Friction Stir Welding Symposium Proceedings- TWI  LTD
The Generosity of the Dead- Graciela Nowenstein
The Italian's One-night Love Child- Cathy Williams
Managing a Dental Practice the Genghis Khan Way-Michael Young
Myth of the Social Volcano-Martin King Whyte
What Color Is Your Dog?- Joel Silverman Kennel Club

The public vote is being held in by the Bookseller online (www.bookseller.com) and the winner will be announced on the 25^th March.

New Year, New Costa

Happy New Year!

Fresh on the heels of the book-giving bonanza known as Christmas (I'm still rubbing my hands with glee at the though of my unread bounty), a magical time when a cartoon Meerkat can make the transition from television advert to print and become the unexpected and undisputed King of both the biography and gift book markets, comes a new year and the first major British competition of the year, the Costa Award, whose grand winner will be announced on January the 25th.

Previous winners, including Sebastian Barry's Secret Scripture, perform well in the book charts for months to come and are often repeatedly honored with appearances in various shortlists throughout the rest of the year. 
Already a best selling author, Maggie O'Farrell has scooped the top prize for the this year's novel category and is tipped to beat the competition for the overall prize with her latest creation, 'The Hand That First Held Mine.'

Meanwhile, the First Novel Category was won by Kishwar Desai with 'Witness the Night' and  Edmund de Waal wins the Biography category with his highly recommended 'The Hare with the Amber Eyes'. Jo Shapcott tops the Poetry category with her first collection in ten years 'Of Mutability' and debut author Jason Wallace claims the Children's category title with 'Out of the Shadows'.

The winner of the overall prizes nets themselves a cool £30,000 as well as the additional £5,000 prize for the top spot in each individual category. With the decision just weeks away, the 2011 Literary Year has officially begun. Happy reading everyone.

Costa Prize Shortlist Announced

The Costa Book Awards shortlist for 2010 was announced last night. Split into five categories, this year’s biography category has gained some attention as only three books have been nominated despite the rules stating that up to four books could be nominated. The Costa Award, which started life as the Whitbread Literary Award in 1971, is a UK based prize which is almost unique in that it gives the chance for children’s books to be judged alongside their adult contemporaries. Notably, there is no overlapping to be found this year with the Booker Prize shortlist, an occurance which has often happened in the past.

There’s still quite a wait until the category and overall winners are announced in January next year and the final judging panel will not be made public until mid December.  A full shortlist of this year’s category judges and nominations can be found below:

Novel

Judges: Adele Parks (Author), Alex Heminsley (Author, Journalist and Broadcaster), Johnathan Ruppin (Foyles Bookshop)

• Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty
• The Blasphemer by Nigel Farndale
• The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell
• Skippy Dies by Paul Murray

First Novel

Judges:Anita Rani (Television Presenter), Anneka Rice (Broadcaster), Mark Thornton (co owner of Mostly Books in Abingdon)

• Witness the Night by Kishwar Desai
• Coconut Unlimited by Nikesh Shukla
• The Temple-Goers by Aatish Taseer

Biography

Judges:Andrew Holgate (Literary Editor for the Sunday Times), Caroline Moorehead MBE (Biographer and Writer), Juliet Nicholson (Writer)

  

• How to Live A Life of Montaigne by Sarah Bakewell
• My Father's Fortune by Michael Frayn
• The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal

Poetry

Judges:Leonie Rushworth (Poet, Reviewer and Educator), Ruth Padel (Poet), Tim Dee (Radio Producer and Writer)

•  Standard Midland by Roy Fisher
• The Wrecking Light by Robin Robertson
• Of Mutability by Jo Shapcott
• New Light for the Old Dark by Sam Willetts

Children’s Books

Judges: Lorraine Kelly (Broadcaster), Tamara Macfarlane (Owner of Tales on Moon lane Children’s Bookshop), Tim Bowler (Author)

• Flyaway by Lucy Christopher
• Annexed by Sharon Dogar
• Bartimaeus: The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud
• Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace 

More information about this year's selections and previous year's winners can be found ont he Costa website,
http://www.costabookawards.co.uk/index.aspx