The Booker Prize

Today saw the announcement of The Lost Man Booker Prize longlist - confused? This>is a one-off prize to honour books published in 1970 which missed out on the opportunity to win the Booker Prize. In 1971, just two years after it began, the Booker Prize ceased to be awarded retrospectively and became, as it is today, a prize for the best novel in the year of publication. At the same time, the date on which the award was given moved from April to November. As a result of these changes, there was a whole year's gap when a wealth of fiction, published in 1970 fell through the net. These books were simple never considered for the prize...until now. The shortlist will be announced in March but, as with the Best of the Booker in 2008, the international reading public will decide the winner by voting via the Man Booker Prize website with the overall winner being announced in May. Read More