The

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

is an annual

literary award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. ...

given for the best English-language novel of the year published in either the United Kingdom or Ireland. The 2023 winner was Paul Lynch's ''

Prophet Song ''Prophet Song'' is a 2023 dystopian novel by Irish author Paul Lynch, published by Oneworld. The novel depicts the struggles of the Stack family, in particular Eilish Stack, a mother of four who is trying to save her family as the Republic of ...

''. The 2023 longlist was announced on 1 August. The shortlist, announced on 21 September, consisted of six books from six different authors, one British, one Canadian, two Irish, and two American. For all six authors, this marked the first time that they had appeared in a Booker Prize shortlist. For two writers, Escoffery and Maroo, the shortlist honour was given for their debut novels. With the 2023 longlisting for her work ''All the Little Bird-Hearts'', Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow became the first person with

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

to be nominated for a Booker prize. Regarding the 2023 shortlisted works, novelist and chair of the Booker Prize Judging Panel,

Esi Edugyan Esi Edugyan (born 1978) is a Canadian novelist.Donna Bailey Nurse"Writing the blues" ''Quill & Quire'', July 2011. She has twice won the Giller Prize, for her novels ''Half-Blood Blues'' and '' Washington Black''. Biography Esi Edugyan was born a ...

stated "This year's novels offer a full range of lived experience, the books refuse easy categorization. No one voice, no one vision dominates." The winner was announced on 26 November 2023, at the

Old Billingsgate Old Billingsgate Market is the name given to what is now a hospitality and events venue in the City of London, based in the Victorian building that was originally Billingsgate Fish Market, the world's largest fish market in the 19th century. ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The £50,000 prize was won by Paul Lynch of Ireland for his novel ''

''. Esi Edugyan stated that the work was a "triumph of emotional storytelling, bracing and brave". Edugyan also stated that the book's depiction of war and the migrant crisis "captures the social and political anxieties of our current moment." The keynote speaker for the award ceremony was

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (; fa, نازنین زاغری ; born 26 December 1978) is an Iranian-British dual citizen who was detained in Iran from 3 April 2016 as part of a long running dispute between Britain and Iran. In early September 2016 ...

, who was detained in an Iranian prison for about six years and released in March 2022. Zaghari-Ratcliffe explained how books that were smuggled to her had helped her during her time in solitary confinement.

Judging panel

(chair) *

Adjoa Andoh Adjoa Andoh Hon. FRSL (born 14 January 1963) is a British actress. On stage, she has played lead roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre and the Almeida Theatre. On television, she appeared in tw ...

Robert Webb Robert Patrick Webb (born 29 September 1972) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is one half of the double act Mitchell and Webb, alongside David Mitchell. Webb and Mitchell both starred in the Channel 4 sitco ...

* James Shapiro *

Mary Jean Chan Mary Jean Chan is a Hong Kong Chinese poet, lecturer, editor and critic. Their first poetry collection, ''Flèche'', won the 2019 Costa Book Award in the Poetry category. Chan is also a 2019 recipient of an Eric Gregory Award for a collection ...

Nominees

Shortlist

Longlist

References

{{Booker Prize Booker Booker Prizes by year 2023 awards in the United Kingdom November 2023 events in the United Kingdom

Judging panel

Nominees

Shortlist

Longlist

See also

References