This prize is different to the usual Man Booker Prize in that it "recognises one writer for his or her achievement in fiction. Worth £60,000 to the winner, the prize is awarded every two years to a living author who has published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language. The winner is chosen solely at the discretion of the judging panel; there are no submissions from publishers. Previous winners have been Lydia Davis (2013), Philip Roth (2011), Alice Munro (2009), Chinua Achebe (2007) and Ismail Kadare (2005). In addition, there is a separate award for translation and, if applicable, the winner can choose a translator of his or her work into English to receive a prize of £15,000."
Things will be a bit different from next year according to their website as from 2016, "the prize will be awarded annually for a single work of fiction, translated into English and published in the UK, rather than every two years for a writer's entire body of work. Both novels and collections of short stories will be eligible. The £50,000 prize will be divided equally between the author and the translator. Each shortlisted author and translator will receive £1,000. This brings the total prize fund to £62,000 per year, compared to the previous £37,500 for the Man Booker International Prize and £10,000 for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. The Man Booker International Prize will join forces with the current Independent Foreign Fiction Prize."
We wondered how many Man Booker International prizewinners and nominees we have had in our bookclub over the years, and concluded that indeed we have had a few - Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood, Doris Lessing, Michael Ondaatjie, Philip Roth, Salman Rushdie, Nadine Gordimer, Ian McEwan, Muriel Spark, John Updike, and maybe even more ...
Thanks Terry for a great evening.
