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{{Short description|British literary award}}
{{For|the related prizes awarded for translations and for children's literature|International Booker Prize|Children's Booker Prize}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2012}}
{{Infobox award
| name = The Booker Prize
| current_awards = 
| image = Booker Prize Logo.svg
| caption = 
| awarded_for = Best work of sustained fiction of the year, written in English and published in the UK or Ireland
| reward = £50,000
| presenter = {{ubl|[[Booker Group|Booker, McConnell Ltd]] (1969–2001)|[[Man Group]] (2002–2019)|[[Michael Moritz#Philanthropy|Crankstart]] (2019 onwards)}}
| country = 
| location = [[Somerset House]], [[Strand, London]], England
| year = {{start date and age|1969}}
| year2 = 
| website = {{URL|http://www.thebookerprizes.com/}}
| imagesize = 150px
}}

The '''Booker Prize''', formerly the '''Booker Prize for Fiction''' (1969–2001) and the '''Man Booker Prize''' (2002–2019), is a [[literary award]] conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the [[English language|English]] language, which was published in the [[United Kingdom]] or [[Ireland]]. It is regarded as one of the most prestigious literary awards, and the winner receives {{Currency|50,000|GBP}}, as well as international publicity that usually leads to a significant sales boost.<ref name="Sutherland">{{Cite news |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2008/10/booker-prize-british-literary |title=The Booker's Big Bang |author= Sutherland, John |work=[[New Statesman]] |date=9 October 2008 |access-date=12 March 2024|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227193902/http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2008/10/booker-prize-british-literary|archive-date=27 February 2012}}</ref> When the prize was created, only novels written by [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]], Irish and South African (and later Zimbabwean) citizens were eligible to receive the prize; in 2014, eligibility was widened to any English-language novel—a change that proved controversial.<ref name="Booker 2014"/><ref name="BBC 2013-09-18">{{Cite news |title='A surprise and a risk': Reaction to Booker Prize upheaval |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24126882 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |access-date=19 September 2013 |date=18 September 2013}}</ref>

A five-person panel consisting of authors, publishers and journalists, as well as politicians, actors, artists and musicians,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Booker Prize 2024 |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/prize-years/2024 |website=The Booker Prizes |access-date=20 January 2024}}</ref> is appointed by the Booker Prize Foundation each year to choose the winning book.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Booker Prize {{!}} The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-prize |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=thebookerprizes.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Wood"/> [[Gaby Wood]] has been the chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation since 2015.<ref>[https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/judges/gaby-wood Gaby Wood] at The Booker Prizes.</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Flood|first=Alison|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/30/gaby-wood-head-of-books-daily-telegraph-new-literary-director-booker-prize-foundation|title=Gaby Wood, head of books at ''Daily Telegraph'', appointed as new literary director of Booker prize foundation|newspaper=The Guardian|date=30 April 2015}}</ref><ref>Jennifer (20 April 2015), [http://bookslive.co.za/blog/2015/04/30/booker-prize-foundation-hints-at-new-direction-with-appointment-of-gaby-wood-as-literary-director/ "Booker Prize Foundation Hints at New Direction with Appointment of Gaby Wood as Literary Director"], Books Live, ''[[Sunday Times (South Africa)|Sunday Times]]'' (South Africa).</ref>

A high-profile literary award in [[British culture]], the Booker Prize is greeted with anticipation and fanfare around the world.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Bob |last=Hoover |url=http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/08041/855698-44.stm|title='Gathering' storm clears for prize winner Enright |work=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |date=10 February 2008 |access-date=10 February 2008 |quote=In America, literary prizes are greeted with the same enthusiasm as a low Steelers draft choice. Not so in the British Isles, where the $98,000 Man Booker Fiction Prize can even push Amy Winehouse off the front page – at least for a day. The atmosphere around the award approaches sports-championship proportions, with London bookies posting the ever-changing odds on the nominees. Then, in October when the winner is announced live on the BBC TV evening news, somebody always gets ticked off.}}</ref> Literary critics have noted that it is a mark of distinction for authors to be selected for inclusion in the [[Short list|shortlist]] or to be nominated for the "longlist".<ref name="Sutherland" />

A sister prize, the [[International Booker Prize]], is awarded for a work of fiction translated into English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. Unlike the Booker Prize, short story collections are eligible for the International Booker Prize. The £50,000 prize money is split evenly between the author and translator of the winning book.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Booker Prizes |publisher=Booker Prize Foundation |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/}}</ref> A third award, the [[Children's Booker Prize]], was launched in 2025, with the inaugural winner to be announced in 2027.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Saunders |first1=Emma |title=Booker Prize launches new award for children's fiction including young judges |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ydgg1lzdgo |agency=BBC News |date=24 October 2025}}</ref>

==History and administration==
The prize was established as the "Booker Prize for Fiction" after the company [[Booker Group|Booker, McConnell Ltd]] began sponsoring the event in 1969<ref name="Stoddard">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/from-the-archive-blog/2011/oct/18/booker-prize-history-controversy-criticism |title=Man Booker Prize: a history of controversy, criticism and literary greats |first =Katy |last=Stoddard|work=The Guardian |date=18 October 2011 |access-date=18 October 2011}}</ref> with the first award ceremony being held on Aprill 22<ref name="PHN">[https://phnewby.net/memories-of-the-first-booker-prize/ ''Memories of the First Booker Prize''] P.N. Newby /phnewby.net (accessdate 11 November 2025)</ref> at [[Worshipful Company of Drapers|Drapers' Hall]] on [[Throgmorton Street]] in the [[City of London]]; it became commonly known as the "Booker Prize" or the "Booker". [[Jock Campbell, Baron Campbell of Eskan|Jock Campbell]], [[Charles William Tyrrell|Charles Tyrrell]] and [[Tom Maschler]] were instrumental in establishing the prize.

When administration of the prize was transferred to the Booker Prize Foundation in 2002, the title sponsor became the investment company [[Man Group]], which opted to retain "Booker" as part of the official title of the prize. The foundation is an independent registered charity funded by the entire profits of Booker Prize Trading Ltd, of which it is the sole shareholder.<ref>{{cite web |title=Booker Prize: legal information |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/terms-conditions |access-date=3 September 2009 |work=thebookerprizes.com}}</ref> The prize money awarded with the Booker Prize was originally £5,000.<ref name="thebookerprizes">{{Cite web |title=Booker Prize facts and figures {{!}} The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/booker-prize-facts-and-figures |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=thebookerprizes.com |language=en}}</ref> It doubled in 1978 to £10,000 and was subsequently raised to £50,000 in 2002 under the sponsorship of the Man Group,<ref name="thebookerprizes"/> making it one of the [[List of the world's richest literary prizes|world's richest literary prizes]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}} Each of the shortlisted authors receives £2,500 and a specially bound edition of their book.<ref name="thebookerprizes"/>

The original Booker Prize trophy was designed by the artist [[Jan Pieńkowski]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Booker Prize trophy: the story behind our distinctive statuette |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/jan-pie%C5%84kowski-booker-trophy-meg-and-mog|first=Sarah|last=Shaffi|date=5 October 2022|access-date=25 September 2023 |website=thebookerprizes.com |language=en}}</ref> and the design was revived for the 2023 prize.

===1969–1979===
The first winner of the Booker Prize was [[P. H. Newby]] in 1969 for his novel ''[[Something to Answer For]]''. W. L. Webb, ''[[The Guardian]]''{{'}}s Literary Editor, was chair of the inaugural set of judges,<ref name="Wood">{{Cite web |last=Wood |first=Gaby |date=4 July 2018 |title=A Glimpse Behind the Scenes: The Booker at 50 |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/a-glimpse-behind-the-scenes-the-booker-at-50 |website=The Booker Prizes}}</ref> which included [[Rebecca West]], [[Stephen Spender]], [[Frank Kermode]] and David Farrer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Booker Prize 1969 {{!}} The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/prize-years/1969 |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=thebookerprizes.com |language=en}}</ref>

In 1970, the prize's second year, [[Bernice Rubens]] became the first woman to win the Booker Prize, for ''[[The Elected Member]]''.<ref>Kidd, James (5 March 2006), [https://www.scmp.com/article/539083/brief-history-man-booker-prize "A Brief History of The Man Booker Prize"], ''South China Morning Post''.</ref>

The rules of the Booker changed in 1971; previously, it had been given retrospectively, to books published in the year prior to each award. In 1971, eligibility was changed to make the year of a novel's publication the same as the year of the award, which was made in November; in effect, this meant that books published in 1970 were not considered for the Booker in either year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-lost-man-booker|title=The Lost Man Booker|website=The Booker Prizes|access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref> Forty years later, the Booker Prize Foundation announced in January 2010 the creation of a special award called the "[[Lost Man Booker Prize]]", with the winner chosen from a longlist of 22 novels published in 1970.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/stories/1317 |title=The Lost Man Booker Prize announced |work=bookerprize.com |date=1 February 2010|access-date=31 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202172535/http://themanbookerprize.com/news/stories/1317 |archive-date=2 December 2010}}</ref> The prize was won by [[J. G. Farrell]] for ''[[Troubles (novel)|Troubles]]'', though the author had died in 1979.

In 1972, winning writer [[John Berger]], known for his [[Marxism|Marxist]] worldview, protested during his acceptance speech against Booker McConnell. He blamed Booker's 130 years of sugar production in the Caribbean for the region's modern poverty.<ref name="White"/><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otu4tjqrOk0 "John Berger on the Booker Prize (1972)"], YouTube.</ref> Berger donated half of his £5,000 prize to the [[British Black Panthers|British Black Panther movement]], because it had a socialist and revolutionary perspective in agreement with his own.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hamya |first1=Jo |title=Seeing G.: John Berger, the Black Panthers and the Booker Prize, 50 years on |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFVi6dZ6C3c|date=30 November 2022 |access-date=30 November 2022|publisher=The Booker Prizes|via=YouTube}}</ref><ref name="White">{{cite news |first=Michael |last=White |url=http://archive.guardian.co.uk/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=R1VBLzE5NzIvMTEvMjUjQXIwMTEwMA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117235221/http://archive.guardian.co.uk/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=R1VBLzE5NzIvMTEvMjUjQXIwMTEwMA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 January 2012 |title=Berger's black bread |newspaper=The Guardian |date=25 November 1972}} p. 11.</ref><ref name="Stoddard"/><ref>[https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/i-have-to-turn-the-prize-against-itself-john-bergers-1972-booker-prize Speech by John Berger on accepting the Booker Prize for Fiction] at the Café Royal in London on 23 November 1972. The Booker Prizes, 24 November 2022.</ref>

===1980–1999===
In 1980, [[Anthony Burgess]], writer of ''[[Earthly Powers]]'', refused to attend the ceremony unless it was confirmed to him in advance whether he had won.<ref name="Stoddard"/> His was one of two books considered likely to win, the other being ''[[Rites of Passage (novel)|Rites of Passage]]'' by [[William Golding]]. The judges decided only 30 minutes before the ceremony, giving the prize to Golding. Both novels had been seen as favourites to win leading up to the prize, and the dramatic "literary battle" between two senior writers made front-page news.<ref name="Stoddard"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://archive.guardian.co.uk/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=R1VBLzE5ODAvMTAvMjIjQXIwMDEwNA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118031002/http://archive.guardian.co.uk/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=R1VBLzE5ODAvMTAvMjIjQXIwMDEwNA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 January 2012 |title=Lord of the novel wins the Booker prize |first= W. L. |last=Webb|work=The Guardian |date=22 October 1980}} p. 1.</ref>

[[Alice Munro]]'s ''[[Who Do You Think You Are? (book)|The Beggar Maid]]'' was shortlisted in 1980, and remains the only short-story collection to be shortlisted (although another short-story collection, [[Banu Mushtaq]]'s ''[[Heart Lamp: Selected Stories]]'' later won the [[International Booker Prize]] in 2025).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jul/13/big-novels-2012|title=Dear Life: Stories by Alice Munro (Chatto & Windus, November) |work=The Guardian |date=13 July 2012 |access-date=13 July 2012 |quote=As the only writer to sneak on to the Booker shortlist for a collection of short stories (with ''The Beggar Maid'' in 1980), Alice Munro easily deserves to end our list of the year's best fiction.}}</ref>

In 1981, nominee [[John Banville]] wrote a letter to ''[[The Guardian]]'' requesting that the prize be given to him so that he could use the money to buy every copy of the longlisted books in Ireland and donate them to libraries, "thus ensuring that the books not only are bought but also read&nbsp;– surely a unique occurrence".<ref name="Stoddard"/><ref>Banville, John (15 October 1981), [https://web.archive.org/web/20120117235051/http://archive.guardian.co.uk/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=R1VBLzE5ODEvMTAvMTUjQXIwMTQwMg==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom "A&nbsp;novel way of striking a 12,000 Booker Prize bargain"], ''The Guardian'', Letters to the editor, p. 14.</ref> The prize was eventually won by Salman Rushdie's ''[[Midnight's Children]]''.

Judging for the 1983 award produced a draw between [[J. M. Coetzee]]'s ''[[Life & Times of Michael K]]'' and [[Salman Rushdie]]'s ''[[Shame (Rushdie novel)|Shame]]'', leaving chair of judges Fay Weldon to choose between the two. According to Stephen Moss in ''The Guardian'', "Her arm was bent and she chose Rushdie", only to change her mind as the result was being phoned through.<ref name="Moss"/> At the award ceremony, [[Fay Weldon]] used her speech to attack the assembled publishers, accusing them of exploiting and undervaluing authors. "I will ask you if in your dealings with authors you are really being fair, and honourable, and right? Or merely getting away with what you can? If you are not careful, you will kill the goose that lays your golden eggs."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mackay-Smith |first1=Donna |title=How Fay Weldon's 'anti-publisher speech' became one of the Booker Prize's bombshell moments |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/how-fay-weldons-anti-publisher-speech-became-one-of-the-booker-prizes |website=The Booker Prizes |date=6 January 2023|access-date=6 January 2023}}</ref>

In 1992, the jury split the prize between [[Michael Ondaatje]]'s ''[[The English Patient]]'' and [[Barry Unsworth]]'s ''[[Sacred Hunger]]''. This prompted the foundation to draw up a rule that made it mandatory for the appointed jury to make the award to just a single author/book.

The choice of [[James Kelman]]'s book ''[[How Late It Was, How Late]]'' as 1994 Booker Prize winner proved to be one of the most controversial in the award's history.<ref>{{cite news |first=Robert |last=Winder|author-link=Robert Winder |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/highly-literary-and-deeply-vulgar-if-james-kelmans-booker-novel-is-rude-it-is-in-good-company-argues-1442639.html |title=Highly literary and deeply vulgar: If James Kelman's Booker novel is rude, it is in good company, argues Robert Winder |work=The Independent |date=13 October 1994 |quote=James Kelman's victory in the Booker Prize on Tuesday night has already provoked a not altogether polite discussion&nbsp;...}}</ref> Rabbi [[Julia Neuberger]], one of the judges, declared it "a&nbsp;disgrace" and left the event, later deeming the book to be "crap"; [[WHSmith]]'s marketing manager called the award "an embarrassment to the whole book trade"; [[Waterstones]] in [[Glasgow]] sold a mere 13 copies of Kelman's book the following week.<ref>{{cite news |first=Maeve |last=Walsh |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/it-was-five-years-ago-today-how-controversial-it-was-how-controversial-1081947.html |title=It was five years ago today: How controversial it was, how controversial |work=The Independent |date=21 March 1999}}</ref> In 1994, ''The Guardian''{{'}}s literary editor [[Richard Gott]], citing the lack of objective criteria and the exclusion of American authors, described the prize as "a&nbsp;significant and dangerous iceberg in the sea of British culture that serves as a symbol of its current malaise".<ref name="Stoddard"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://archive.guardian.co.uk/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=R1VBLzE5OTQvMDkvMDUjQXIwMjIwMQ==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117234817/http://archive.guardian.co.uk/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=R1VBLzE5OTQvMDkvMDUjQXIwMjIwMQ==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 January 2012 |title=Novel way to run a lottery |last=Gott |first= Richard|work=The Guardian |page=22|date=5 September 1994}}</ref>

In 1996, [[A. L. Kennedy]] served as a judge; in 2001, she called the prize "a&nbsp;pile of crooked nonsense" with the winner determined by "who knows who, who's sleeping with who, who's selling drugs to who, who's married to who, whose turn it is".<ref name="Moss" />

In 1997, the decision to award [[Arundhati Roy]]'s ''[[The God of Small Things]]'' proved controversial. [[Carmen Callil]], chair of the previous year's Booker judges, called it an "execrable" book and said on television that it should not even have been on the shortlist. Booker Prize chairman [[Martyn Goff]] said Roy won because nobody objected, following the rejection by the judges of [[Bernard MacLaverty]]'s shortlisted book due to their dismissal of him as "a&nbsp;wonderful short-story writer and that ''[[Grace Notes]]'' was three short stories strung together".<ref>{{cite news |first=Dan |last=Glaister |url=http://www.sawnet.org/news/news220.html |title=Popularity pays off for Roy |work=The Guardian |date=14 October 1997 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050227170112/http://sawnet.org/news/news220.html |archive-date=27 February 2005}}</ref>

===2000–2019===
Before 2001, each year's longlist of nominees was not publicly revealed.<ref>{{cite news |first=Emma |last=Yates |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/aug/15/bookerprize2001.thebookerprize |title=Booker Prize longlist announced for first time |newspaper=The Guardian |date=15 August 2001 |access-date=15 August 2001}}</ref> From 2001, the longlisted novels started to be published each year, and in 2007 the number of nominees was capped at 12 or 13 each year.<ref name="thebookerprizes"/>

[[John Sutherland (author)|John Sutherland]], who was a judge for the 1999 prize, was reported as saying in 2001:

{{Blockquote|There is a well-established London literary community. [[Salman Rushdie|Rushdie]] doesn't get shortlisted now because he has attacked that community. That is not a good game plan if you want to win the Booker. [[Norman Mailer]] has found the same thing in the US – you have to "be a citizen" if you want to win prizes. The real scandal is that [Martin] [[Martin Amis|Amis]] has never won the prize. In fact, he has only been shortlisted once and that was for ''[[Time's Arrow (novel)|Time's Arrow]]'', which was not one of his strongest books. That really is suspicious. He pissed people off with ''[[Dead Babies (novel)|Dead Babies]]'' and that gets lodged in the culture. There is also the feeling that he has always looked towards America.<ref name="Moss">{{cite news |first=Stephen |last=Moss |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/sep/18/bookerprize2001.thebookerprize |title=Is the Booker fixed? |newspaper=The Guardian |date=18 September 2001 |access-date=18 September 2001}}</ref>}}

In 2001, [[Peter Carey (novelist)|Peter Carey]] become the first author to win the Booker Prize for a second time.<ref>{{cite news |last=McCrum |first=Robert|author-link=Robert McCrum |date=16 August 2015 |title=The 100 best novels: No 100 – True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey (2000) |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/aug/16/100-best-novels-true-history-kelly-gang-peter-carey |access-date=8 February 2024 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> Carey was the first of four writers to have won the Booker Prize twice, the others being [[J. M. Coetzee]], [[Hilary Mantel]], and [[Margaret Atwood]].

The Booker Prize created a permanent home{{when|date=February 2025}} for the archives from 1968 to present at [[Oxford Brookes University]] Library. The Archive, which encompasses the administrative history of the Prize from 1968 to date, collects together a diverse range of material, including correspondence, publicity material, copies of both the Longlists and the Shortlists, minutes of meetings, photographs and material relating to the awards dinner (letters of invitation, guest lists, seating plans). Embargoes of ten or twenty years apply to certain categories of material; examples include all material relating to the judging process and the Longlist prior to 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.brookes.ac.uk/library/collections/special-collections/publishing-and-literary-prizes/booker-prize-archive |title=Booker Prize Archive |publisher=Oxford Brookes University |access-date=25 October 2017}}</ref>

Between 2005 and 2008, the Booker Prize alternated between writers from Ireland and India. "Outsider" [[John Banville]] began this trend in 2005 when his novel ''[[The Sea (novel)|The Sea]]'' was selected as a surprise winner:<ref>{{cite news|first=John|last=Ezard|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/oct/11/books.bookerprize2005?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487|title=Irish stylist springs Booker surprise|newspaper=The Guardian|date=11 October 2005|access-date=11 October 2005}}</ref> [[Boyd Tonkin]], literary editor of ''[[The Independent]]'', famously condemned it as "possibly the most perverse decision in the history of the award" and rival novelist [[Tibor Fischer]] poured scorn on Banville's victory.<ref>{{cite news|first=Sarah|last=Crown|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/culturevultureblog/2005/oct/10/banvillescoops1?INTCMP=SRCH|title=Banville scoops the Booker|newspaper=The Guardian|date=10 October 2005|access-date=10 October 2005}}</ref> [[Kiran Desai]] of India won in 2006. [[Anne Enright]]'s 2007 victory came about due to a jury split over [[Ian McEwan]]'s novel ''[[On Chesil Beach]]''. The following year it was India's turn again, with [[Aravind Adiga]] narrowly defeating Enright's fellow Irishman [[Sebastian Barry]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Charlotte|last=Higgins|author-link=Charlotte Higgins|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/charlottehigginsblog/2009/jan/28/costabookaward-poetry|title=How Adam Foulds was a breath away from the Costa book of the year award|newspaper=The Guardian|date=28 January 2009|access-date=28 January 2009}}</ref>

[[File:The Man Booker Prize 2015 logo.png|thumb|upright=0.75|2015 logo of the then Man Booker Prize]]

Historically, the winner of the Booker Prize was required to be a citizen of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], the [[Republic of Ireland]], or [[Zimbabwe]]. It was announced on 18 September 2013 that future Booker Prize awards would consider authors from anywhere in the world, so long as their work was in [[English language|English]] and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland.<ref name=Gompertz>[[Will Gompertz|Gompertz, Will]] (18 September 2013), [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24145501 "Global expansion for Booker Prize"], BBC News.</ref> This change proved controversial in literary circles. Former winner [[A. S. Byatt]] and former judge [[John Mullan (academic)|John Mullan]] said the prize risked diluting its identity, whereas former judge A. L. Kennedy welcomed the change.<ref name="Booker 2014">{{cite web |title=Meet The Man Booker Prize 2014 Judges |url=http://themanbookerprize.com/news/2013/12/12/meet-man-booker-prize-2014-judges |publisher=The Booker Prizes|date=12 December 2013}}</ref><ref name="BBC 2013-09-18" /><ref name="Cain">{{cite news|first=Sian|last=Cain|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/feb/02/publishers-call-on-man-booker-prize-to-drop-american-authors|title=Publishers call on Man Booker prize to drop American authors|work=The Guardian|date=2 February 2018|access-date=15 February 2018}}</ref> Following this expansion, the first winner not from the Commonwealth, Ireland, or Zimbabwe was American [[Paul Beatty]] in 2016. Another American, [[George Saunders]], won the following year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/oct/17/man-booker-prize-2017-second-american-author-george-saunders-lincoln-in-the-bardo |title=Man Booker prize goes to second American author in a row|first=Sian|last=Cain|work=The Guardian|date=17 October 2017|access-date=25 October 2017}}</ref> In 2018, publishers sought to reverse the change, arguing that the inclusion of American writers would lead to homogenisation, reducing diversity and opportunities everywhere, including in America, to learn about "great books that haven't already been widely heralded".<ref name="Cain"/>

Man Group announced in early 2019 that the year's prize would be the last of eighteen under their sponsorship.<ref>{{cite news|first=Caroline|last=Davies|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jan/27/booker-prize-trustees-search-for-new-sponsor-after-funding-dropped|title=Booker prize trustees search for new sponsor after Man Group exit|work=The Guardian|date=27 January 2019|access-date=27 January 2019}}</ref> A new sponsor, [[Michael Moritz#Philanthropy|Crankstart]]&nbsp;– a [[charitable foundation]] run by [[Michael Moritz|Sir Michael Moritz]] and his wife, Harriet Heyman&nbsp;– then announced it would sponsor the award for five years, with the option to renew for another five years. The award title was changed to simply "The Booker Prize".<ref>{{cite news|first=Alison|last=Flood|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/feb/28/booker-prize-silicon-valley-billionaire-takes-over-as-new-sponsor|title=Booker Prize: Silicon Valley Billionaire Takes Over as New Sponsor|work=The Guardian|date=28 February 2019|access-date=28 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Bill|last=Gompertz|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-47393880|title=Booker Prize finds new funder in billionaire Sir Michael Moritz|publisher=BBC News|date=28 February 2019|access-date=28 February 2019}}</ref>

In 2019, despite having been unequivocally warned against doing so, the foundation's jury – under the chair [[Peter Florence]] – split the prize, awarding it to two authors, in breach of a rule established in 1993. Florence justified the decision, saying: "We came down to a discussion with the director of the Booker Prize about the rules. And we were told quite firmly that the rules state that you can only have one winner&nbsp;... and as we have managed the jury all the way through on the principle of consensus, our consensus was that it was our decision to flout the rules and divide this year's prize to celebrate two winners."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/booker-prize-split-between-atwood-and-evaristo-judges-rebel-against-rules-1098761|first=Mark |last=Chandler|author2= Benedicte Page|title=Booker double welcomed by booksellers |work= The Bookseller|date=14 October 2019|access-date=2020-02-15}}</ref> The two were British writer [[Bernardine Evaristo]] for her novel ''[[Girl, Woman, Other]]'' and Canadian writer [[Margaret Atwood]] for ''[[The Testaments]]''. Evaristo's win marked the first time the Booker had been awarded to a black woman, while Atwood's win, at 79, made her the oldest winner.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-10-16|title=Bernardine Evaristo becomes first black woman to win a Booker; all you need to know about her|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/margaret-atwood-bernardine-evaristo-booker-2019-6069458/|access-date=2020-06-03|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2019-10-15|title=Atwood and Evaristo share Booker Prize|language=en-GB|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50014906|access-date=2020-06-03}}</ref> Atwood had also previously won the prize in 2000.

=== 2020–present ===

In 2020, due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the annual award ceremony was replaced with a livestream from the [[Roundhouse (venue)|Roundhouse]] in London, without the shortlisted authors in attendance. The winner was [[Douglas Stuart (writer)|Douglas Stuart]] for his debut novel ''[[Shuggie Bain]]'', which had been rejected by more than 30 publishers.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Booker Prize 2020 |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/prize-years/2020 |website=The Booker Prizes}}</ref>

2021's small-scale ceremony, once again impacted by COVID-19, saw South African writer [[Damon Galgut]], who had been shortlisted in 2003 and 2010, win the prize for ''[[The Promise (Galgut novel)|The Promise]]''.

2022 saw a re-imagined winner ceremony at the Roundhouse, hosted by comedian [[Sophie Duker]] and featuring a keynote speech by singer [[Dua Lipa]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lipa |first1=Dua |title=Dua Lipa's Booker Prize speech: 'I wonder if authors realise how many gifts they give us' |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/dua-lipas-booker-prize-speech-i-wonder-if-authors-realise-how-many |website=The Booker Prizes|date=18 October 2022 |access-date=18 October 2022}}</ref> The prize was won by Sri Lankan author [[Shehan Karunatilaka]] for his second novel, ''[[The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida]]''.

In 2023, for the first time, the shortlist featured three writers named Paul<ref>{{cite web |last1=Davies |first1=Paul |title=Quiz: how well do you know the Booker Prize's Pauls? |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/quiz-how-well-do-you-know-the-booker-prizes-pauls |website=The Booker Prizes|date=28 September 2023 |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref> ([[Paul Lynch (writer)|Paul Lynch]], [[Paul Murray (author)|Paul Murray]] and [[Paul Harding (author)|Paul Harding]]). The prize was won by Irish writer Paul Lynch for his novel ''[[Prophet Song]]''. In the media, reaction was mixed. In ''The Guardian'', Justine Jordan wrote that "This is a novel written to jolt the reader awake to truths we mostly cannot bear to admit",<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jordan |first1=Justine |title=Paul Lynch's timely Booker winner is a novel written to jolt the reader awake |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/26/prophet-song-paul-lynch-booker-prize-winning-novel-ireland-fascist-control |newspaper=The Guardian |date=26 November 2023}}</ref> while in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', Cal Revely-Calder wrote that ''Prophet Song'' is "political fiction at its laziest" and "the weak link in a strong shortlist".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Revely-Calder |first1=Cal |title=This year's Booker winner is political fiction at its laziest |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/booker-prize/booker-prize-2023-paul-lynch/|date=26 November 2023 |access-date=26 November 2023 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref>

The 2024 prize was won by [[Samantha Harvey]] for ''[[Orbital (novel)|Orbital]]'', the first book set in space to win the prize and, at 136 pages, the second shortest book to win the Booker<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-12 |title=Everything you need to know about Orbital by Samantha Harvey, winner of the Booker Prize 2024 {{!}} The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/everything-you-need-to-know-about-orbital-booker-prize-2024-winner |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=thebookerprizes.com |language=en}}</ref> after [[Penelope Fitzgerald]]'s ''[[Offshore (novel)|Offshore]]''. Harvey was also the first woman to win the Booker since 2019.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Creamer |first=Ella |date=2024-11-12 |title=Samantha Harvey's 'beautiful and ambitious' Orbital wins Booker prize |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/nov/12/orbital-by-samantha-harvey-wins-booker-prize-2024 |access-date=2025-01-04 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Since winning the Booker, ''Orbital'' became a UK bestseller, selling more than 20,000 print copies in the UK in the week following its win, making it the fastest selling winner of the Booker Prize since records began.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-10 |title=The Booker Prize 2025: judges announced and submissions now open {{!}} The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/media-centre/press-releases/the-booker-prize-2025-judges-announced-and-submissions-now-open |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=thebookerprizes.com |language=en}}</ref>

The 2025 Booker Prize was won by the Hungarian-British writer [[David Szalay]] for his novel ''[[Flesh (Szalay novel)|Flesh]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Everything you need to know about Flesh by David Szalay, winner of the Booker Prize 2025 |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/everything-you-need-to-know-about-flesh-booker-prize-2025-winner |website=The Booker Prizes |publisher=Booker Prize Foundation |date=10 November 2025 |access-date=11 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Client Challenge |url=https://www.ft.com/content/94ff8936-6ef0-441e-b14c-ac4c004988fc |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=www.ft.com}}</ref>

==Judging==
The selection process for the winner of the prize commences with the appointment of a panel of five judges, which changes each year. [[Gaby Wood]], the chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, chooses the judges in consultation with an advisory committee made up of senior figures from the UK publishing industry. On rare occasions a judge may be selected a second time. Judges are selected from amongst leading literary critics, writers, academics, and public figures.

Unlike some other literary prizes, each judge is expected to read all of the books that have been submitted. In 2023, the judges read 163 books over seven months.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Creamer |first1=Ella |title=Booker prize reveals 'original and thrilling' 2023 longlist |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/aug/01/booker-prize-reveals-original-and-thrilling-2023-longlist|newspaper=The Guardian |date=1 August 2023}}</ref> After doing so, they select a longlist of 12 or 13 titles (the "Booker Dozen"), before each reading those books for a second time. They then select a shortlist of six titles, and read the six books a third time before selecting a winner.

The Booker judging process and the very concept of a "best book" being chosen by a small number of literary insiders is controversial for many. ''[[The Guardian]]'' introduced the "Not the Booker Prize" voted for by readers partly as a reaction to this.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/series/not-the-booker-prize | title=Not the Booker prize | newspaper= The Guardian | date=16 October 2017}}</ref> Author [[Amit Chaudhuri]] wrote: "The idea that a 'book of the year' can be assessed annually by a bunch of people – judges who have to read almost a book a day – is absurd, as is the idea that this is any way of honouring a writer."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/16/booker-prize-bad-for-writing-alternative-celebrate-literature | title=My fellow authors are too busy chasing prizes to write about what matters |first= Amit |last=Chaudhuri|newspaper=The Guardian | date=15 August 2017}}</ref>

The author [[Julian Barnes]] once dismissed the prize as "posh bingo"<ref>{{cite news |last1=Collett-White |first1=Mike |title=Barnes wins Booker Prize he once named 'posh bingo' |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE79H7A6/#:~:text=%22Writers%20it%20tends%20to%20drive,wisest%20heads%20in%20literary%20Christendom.%22 |publisher=Reuters|date=18 October 2011}}</ref> for the apparently arbitrary way winners are selected. On winning the prize in 2011 he joked that he had revised his opinion, telling reporters that he had realised "the judges are the wisest heads in literary Christendom".

For many years, the winner was announced at a formal, black-tie dinner in London's [[Guildhall, London|Guildhall]] in early October. However, in 2020, with [[COVID-19 pandemic]] restrictions in place, the winner ceremony was broadcast in November from [[the Roundhouse]], in partnership with the [[BBC]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/nov/12/barack-obama-to-take-part-in-2020-booker-prize-ceremony|title=Barack Obama to take part in 2020 Booker prize ceremony|first=Alison|last=Flood|newspaper=The Guardian|date=12 November 2020}}</ref> The ceremony returned to the Roundhouse for a more casual in-person ceremony in 2022, before moving to [[Old Billingsgate]] in London in 2023 and 2024.

==Winners==
{{See also|List of winners and nominated authors of the Booker Prize}}

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! Year
! Author
! Title
! Genre(s)
! Country
|-
! 1969
| [[P. H. Newby]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Looking back at the Booker: PH Newby|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2007/nov/21/lookingbackatthebookerph|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=21 November 2007}}</ref>
| ''[[Something to Answer For]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 1970
| [[Bernice Rubens]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Looking back at the Booker: Bernice Rubens|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2007/dec/12/lookingbackatthebookerber|work=The Guardian|date=12 December 2007}}</ref>
| ''[[The Elected Member]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|WAL}}
|-
! 1971
| [[V. S. Naipaul]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Looking back at the Booker: VS Naipaul|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2007/dec/21/lookingbackatthebookervs|work=The Guardian|date=21 December 2007}}</ref>
| ''[[In a Free State]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|UK}}<br />{{flag|TTO}}
|-
! 1972
| [[John Berger]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Looking back at the Booker: John Berger|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/jan/09/lookingbackatthebookerjoh|work=The Guardian|date=9 January 2008}}</ref>
| ''[[G. (novel)|G.]]''
| [[Experimental literature]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 1973
| [[J. G. Farrell]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Looking back at the Booker: JG Farrell|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/jan/23/lookingbackatthebookerjg|work=The Guardian|date=23 January 2008}}</ref>
| ''[[The Siege of Krishnapur]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}<br />{{flag|IRL}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | 1974
| [[Nadine Gordimer]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Looking back at the Booker: Nadine Gordimer|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/feb/27/lookingbackatthebookernad|work=The Guardian|date=27 February 2008}}</ref>
| ''[[The Conservationist]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag icon|South Africa|1928}} [[South Africa|ZAF]]
|-
| [[Stanley Middleton]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Looking back at the Booker: Stanley Middleton|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/mar/13/holidaystanleymiddleton|work=The Guardian|date=13 March 2008}}</ref>
| ''[[Holiday (novel)|Holiday]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 1975
| [[Ruth Prawer Jhabvala]]
| ''[[Heat and Dust]]''
| [[Historical fiction]]
| {{flag|UK}}<br />{{flag|DE|Weimar}}
|-
! 1976
| [[David Storey]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: Saville|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/nov/18/david-storey-monty-python|work=The Guardian|date=18 November 2008}}</ref>
| ''[[Saville (novel)|Saville]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 1977
| [[Paul Mark Scott|Paul Scott]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: Staying On|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/dec/19/booker-india|work=The Guardian|date=22 December 2008}}</ref>
| ''[[Staying On]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 1978
| [[Iris Murdoch]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: The Sea, the Sea|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/feb/10/iris-murdoch-sea-booker|work=The Guardian|date=11 February 2009}}</ref>
| ''[[The Sea, the Sea]]''
| [[Philosophical novel]]
| {{flag|ENG}}<br />{{flag|IRL}}
|-
! 1979
| [[Penelope Fitzgerald]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: Offshore|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/mar/13/booker-prize-fitzgerald-offshore|work=The Guardian|date=13 March 2009}}</ref>
| ''[[Offshore (novel)|Offshore]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 1980
| [[William Golding]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: Rites of Passage|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/apr/14/booker-william-golding-rites-passage|work=The Guardian|date=15 April 2009}}</ref>
| ''[[To the Ends of the Earth#Rites of Passage|Rites of Passage]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 1981
| [[Salman Rushdie]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Midnight's Children is the right winner|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/jul/10/bestofbooker|work=The Guardian|date=10 July 2008}}</ref>
| ''[[Midnight's Children]]''
| [[Magic realism]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 1982
| [[Thomas Keneally]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: Schindler's Ark|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/may/15/booker-club-schindlers-ark-keneally|work=The Guardian|date=15 May 2009}}</ref>
| ''[[Schindler's Ark]]''
| [[Biographical novel]]
| {{flag|AUS}}
|-
! 1983
| [[J. M. Coetzee]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: Life and Times of Michael K|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/jun/16/booker-club-jm-coetzee|work=The Guardian|date=16 June 2009}}</ref>
| ''[[Life & Times of Michael K]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag icon|South Africa|1928}} [[South Africa|ZAF]]
|-
! 1984
| [[Anita Brookner]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: Hotel du Lac|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/aug/05/booker-club-hotel-du-lac|work=The Guardian|date=5 August 2009}}</ref>
| ''[[Hotel du Lac]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 1985
| [[Keri Hulme]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: The Bone People by Keri Hulme|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/nov/19/booker-club-bone-people|work=The Guardian|date=20 November 2009}}</ref>
| ''[[The Bone People]]''
| [[Mystery fiction|Mystery novel]]
| {{flag|NZL}}
|-
! 1986
| [[Kingsley Amis]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: The Old Devils|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/feb/15/booker-old-devils-kingsley-amis|work=The Guardian|date=16 February 2010}}</ref>
| ''[[The Old Devils]]''
| [[Comic novel]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 1987
| [[Penelope Lively]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: Moon Tiger|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/mar/19/booker-club-moon-tiger|work=The Guardian|date=19 March 2010}}</ref>
| ''[[Moon Tiger]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 1988
| [[Peter Carey (novelist)|Peter Carey]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Looking back at the Booker: Peter Carey|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/may/28/lookingbackatthebookerpet|work=The Guardian|date=28 May 2008}}</ref>
| ''[[Oscar and Lucinda]]''
| [[Historical fiction]]
| {{flag|AUS}}
|-
! 1989
| [[Kazuo Ishiguro]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: The Remains of the Day|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/nov/26/booker-club-remains-day|work=The Guardian|date=26 November 2010}}</ref>
| ''[[The Remains of the Day]]''
| [[Historical fiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 1990
| [[A. S. Byatt]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/17/books/byatt-wins-the-booker-prize.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|title=Byatt Wins the Booker Prize|first=Susan|last=Heller Anderson|date=12 October 1990}}</ref>
| ''[[Possession (Byatt novel)|Possession]]''
| [[Historiographic metafiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 1991
| [[Ben Okri]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: The Famished Road|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/jan/20/booker-club-famished-road|work=The Guardian|date=20 January 2011}}</ref>
| ''[[The Famished Road]]''
| [[Magic realism]]
| {{flag|NGR}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | 1992
| [[Michael Ondaatje]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: The English Patient|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/mar/04/booker-club-english-patient-ondaatje|work=The Guardian|date=4 March 2011}}</ref>
| ''[[The English Patient]]''
| [[Historiographic metafiction]]
| {{flag|CAN}}<br />{{flag|SRI}}
|-
| [[Barry Unsworth]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: Sacred Hunger|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/jun/10/booker-club-sacred-hunger-barry-unsworth|work=The Guardian|date=10 June 2011}}</ref>
| ''[[Sacred Hunger]]''
| [[Historical fiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 1993
| [[Roddy Doyle]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1993/10/27/roddy-doyle-wins-uks-booker-prize/177c7e35-0af8-44a4-82c9-5e5e72593e9d/|title=Roddy Doyle Wins U.K.'s Booker Prize|first=David|last=Streitfeld|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=27 October 1993}}</ref>
| ''[[Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|IRL}}
|-
! 1994
| [[James Kelman]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: How Late It Was, How Late by James Kelman|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/sep/14/booker-club-james-kelman-how-late|work=The Guardian|date=14 September 2011}}</ref>
| ''[[How Late It Was, How Late]]''
| [[Stream of consciousness]]
| {{flag|SCO}}
|-
! 1995
| [[Pat Barker]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Looking back at the Booker: Pat Barker|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/jun/06/lookingbackatthebookerpat|work=The Guardian|date=6 June 2008}}</ref>
| ''[[The Ghost Road]]''
| [[War novel]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 1996
| [[Graham Swift]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: Last Orders by Graham Swift|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jul/24/booker-club-graham-swift-last-orders|work=The Guardian|date=24 July 2012}}</ref>
| ''[[Last Orders]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 1997
| [[Arundhati Roy]]
| ''[[The God of Small Things]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|IND}}
|-
! 1998
| [[Ian McEwan]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker club: Amsterdam by Ian McEwan|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/dec/06/booker-club-amsterdam-ian-mcewan|work=The Guardian|date=6 December 2011}}</ref>
| ''[[Amsterdam (novel)|Amsterdam]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 1999
| [[J. M. Coetzee]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Looking back at the Booker: JM Coetzee|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/jun/24/lookingbackatthebookerjm|work=The Guardian|date=24 June 2008}}</ref>
| ''[[Disgrace (novel)|Disgrace]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|RSA}}
|-
! 2000
| [[Margaret Atwood]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Margaret Atwood {{!}} The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/authors/margaret-atwood |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=thebookerprizes.com |date=18 November 1939 |language=en}}</ref>
| ''[[The Blind Assassin]]''
| [[Historical fiction]]
| {{flag|CAN}}
|-
! 2001
| [[Peter Carey (novelist)|Peter Carey]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peter Carey {{!}} The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/authors/peter-carey |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=thebookerprizes.com |date=7 May 1943 |language=en}}</ref>
| ''[[True History of the Kelly Gang]]''
| [[Historical fiction]]
| {{flag|AUS}}
|-
! 2002
| [[Yann Martel]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yann Martel {{!}} The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/authors/yann-martel |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=thebookerprizes.com |date=25 June 1963 |language=en}}</ref>
| ''[[Life of Pi]]''
| [[Fantasy]] and [[adventure fiction]]
| {{flag|CAN}}
|-
! 2003
| [[DBC Pierre]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=D.B.C. Pierre {{!}} The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/authors/dbc-pierre |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=thebookerprizes.com |language=en}}</ref>
| ''[[Vernon God Little]]''
| [[Black comedy]]
| {{flag|AUS}}
|-
! 2004
| [[Alan Hollinghurst]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alan Hollinghurst {{!}} The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/authors/alan-hollinghurst |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=thebookerprizes.com |date=26 May 1954 |language=en}}</ref>
| ''[[The Line of Beauty]]''
| [[Historical fiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! 2005
| [[John Banville]]
| ''[[The Sea (novel)|The Sea]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|IRL}}
|-
! [[2006 Man Booker Prize|2006]]
| [[Kiran Desai]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/oct/11/books.bookerprize2006|title=First-timer beats the odds to take Booker prize that eluded her mother|newspaper=The Guardian|first=John|last=Ezard|date=11 October 2006}}</ref>
| ''[[The Inheritance of Loss]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|IND}}
|-
! [[2007 Man Booker Prize|2007]]
| [[Anne Enright]]
| ''[[The Gathering (Enright novel)|The Gathering]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|IRL}}
|-
! [[2008 Man Booker Prize|2008]]
| [[Aravind Adiga]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jordison|first1=Sam|title=Booker Club: The White Tiger|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/aug/22/theindianeconomicmiraclemi|work=The Guardian|date=22 August 2008}}</ref>
| ''[[The White Tiger (Adiga novel)|The White Tiger]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|IND}}
|-
! [[2009 Man Booker Prize|2009]]
| [[Hilary Mantel]]
| ''[[Wolf Hall]]''
| [[Historical fiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! [[2010 Man Booker Prize|2010]]
| [[Howard Jacobson]]
| ''[[The Finkler Question]]''
| [[Comic novel]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! [[2011 Man Booker Prize|2011]]
| [[Julian Barnes]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/oct/18/booker-prize-julian-barnes-wins|title=Booker prize 2011: Julian Barnes triumphs at last|first=Mark|last=Brown|newspaper=The Guardian|date=18 October 2011}}</ref>
| ''[[The Sense of an Ending]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! [[Man Booker Prize 2012|2012]]
| [[Hilary Mantel]]
| ''[[Bring Up the Bodies]]''
| [[Historical fiction]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! [[2013 Man Booker Prize|2013]]
| [[Eleanor Catton]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/booker-prize-eleanor-catton-luminaries|title=Eleanor Catton becomes youngest Booker prize winner|first=Mark|last=Brown|newspaper=The Guardian|date=15 October 2013}}</ref>
| ''[[The Luminaries]]''
| [[Historical fiction]]
| {{flag|NZL}}
|-
! [[2014 Man Booker Prize|2014]]
| [[Richard Flanagan]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/14/richard-flanagan-wins-man-booker-prize-2014|title=Richard Flanagan wins Man Booker prize with 'timeless depiction of war'|newspaper=The Guardian|first=Mark|last=Brown|date=14 October 2014}}</ref>
| ''[[The Narrow Road to the Deep North (novel)|The Narrow Road to the Deep North]]''
| [[Historical fiction]]
| {{flag|AUS}}
|-
! [[2015 Man Booker Prize|2015]]
| [[Marlon James (novelist)|Marlon James]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/13/marlon-james-wins-the-man-booker-prize-2015|title=Marlon James wins the Man Booker prize 2015|first=Mark|last=Brown|newspaper=The Guardian|date=13 October 2015}}</ref>
| ''[[A Brief History of Seven Killings]]''
| Historical/experimental novel
| {{flag|JAM}}
|-
! [[2016 Man Booker Prize|2016]]
| [[Paul Beatty]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/25/paul-beatty-wins-man-booker-prize-2016|title=Man Booker prize 2016 won by American author Paul Beatty|first=Mark|last=Brown|newspaper=The Guardian|date=25 October 2016}}</ref>
| ''[[The Sellout (novel)|The Sellout]]''
| [[Satire]]
| {{flag|USA}}
|-
! [[2017 Man Booker Prize|2017]]
| [[George Saunders]]
| ''[[Lincoln in the Bardo]]''
| Historical/experimental novel
| {{flag|USA}}
|-
! [[2018 Man Booker Prize|2018]]
| [[Anna Burns]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/16/anna-burns-wins-man-booker-prize-for-incredibly-original-milkman|title=Anna Burns wins Man Booker prize for 'incredibly original' Milkman|first=Alison|last=Flood|author2=[[Claire Armitstead]]|newspaper=The Guardian|date=16 October 2018}}</ref>
| ''[[Milkman (novel)|Milkman]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flagof}} NIR
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2019 Booker Prize|2019]]
| [[Margaret Atwood]]
| ''[[The Testaments]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|CAN}}
|-
| [[Bernardine Evaristo]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bernardine Evaristo {{!}} The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/authors/bernadine-evaristo |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=thebookerprizes.com |date=28 May 1959 |language=en}}</ref>
| ''[[Girl, Woman, Other]]''
| [[Experimental literature]]
| {{flag|ENG}}
|-
! [[2020 Booker Prize|2020]]
| [[Douglas Stuart (writer)|Douglas Stuart]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Douglas Stuart {{!}} The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/authors/douglas-stuart |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=thebookerprizes.com |date=31 May 1976 |language=en}}</ref>
| ''[[Shuggie Bain]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|SCO}}<br />{{flag|USA}}
|-
! [[2021 Booker Prize|2021]]
| [[Damon Galgut]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Damon Galgut {{!}} The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/authors/damon-galgut |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=thebookerprizes.com |date=12 November 1963 |language=en}}</ref>
| ''[[The Promise (Galgut novel)|The Promise]]''
| [[Literary fiction]]
| {{flag|RSA}} 
|-
![[2022 Booker Prize|2022]]
| [[Shehan Karunatilaka]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida {{!}} The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-seven-moons-of-maali-almeida |access-date=2022-10-17 |website=thebookerprizes.com |date=4 August 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
|''[[The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida]]''
|[[Fantasy ]] / [[ History ]] / [[Political Satire]]
|{{flag|SRI}}
|-
![[2023 Booker Prize|2023]]
|[[Paul Lynch (writer)|Paul Lynch]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schaub |first=Michael |date=2023-11-26 |title=Winner of the 2023 Booker Prize Is Revealed |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/winner-of-the-2023-booker-prize-is-revealed/ |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |language=en}}</ref>
|''[[Prophet Song]]''
| [[Utopian and dystopian fiction|Dystopian novel]]
|{{flag|IRL}}
|-
![[2024 Booker Prize|2024]]
|[[Samantha Harvey (author)|Samantha Harvey]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/nov/12/orbital-by-samantha-harvey-wins-booker-prize-2024|title=Samantha Harvey's 'beautiful and ambitious' Orbital wins Booker Prize|website=The Guardian|last1=Creamer|first1=Ella|date=12 November 2024|access-date=12 November 2024}}</ref>
|''[[Orbital (novel)|Orbital]]''
|[[Literary fiction]]
|{{flag|ENG}}
|-
![[2025 Booker Prize|2025]]
|[[David Szalay]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/94ff8936-6ef0-441e-b14c-ac4c004988fc|title=David Szalay's 'Flesh' wins the 2025 Booker Prize for fiction|first=Maria|last=Crawford|author2=Constance Ayrton|website=[[Financial Times]]|date=10 November 2025|access-date=10 November 2025}}</ref>
|''[[Flesh (Szalay novel)|Flesh]]''
|[[Literary fiction]]
|{{flag|HUN}}<br />{{flag|ENG}}
|}

==Special awards==
In 1971, the nature of the prize was changed so that it was awarded to novels published in that year instead of in the previous year; therefore, no novel published in 1970 could win the Booker Prize. This was rectified in 2010 by the awarding of the "[[Lost Man Booker Prize]]" to [[J. G. Farrell]]'s ''[[Troubles (novel)|Troubles]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last= |first=|title=J G Farrell wins Booker prize for 1970, 30 year after his death|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/j-g-farrell-wins-booker-prize-for-1970-30-year-after-his-death-7233tzbmwcf|access-date=13 August 2022|newspaper=[[The Times]]|date=20 May 2010 }}</ref>

In 1993, a special Booker of Bookers prize was awarded to mark the prize's 25th anniversary. Three previous judges of the award, [[Malcolm Bradbury]], David Holloway and W. L. Webb, met and chose [[Salman Rushdie]]'s ''[[Midnight's Children]]'', the 1981 winner, as "the best novel out of all the winners".<ref>{{cite news|first=John|last=Mullan|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jul/12/saturdayreviewsfeatres.guardianreview31|title=Lives & letters, Where are they now?|work=The Guardian|date=12 July 2008|access-date=11 September 2011}}</ref>

In 2006, the Man Booker Prize set up a "Best of Beryl" prize, for the author [[Beryl Bainbridge]], who had been nominated five times and yet failed to win once. The prize is said to count as a Booker Prize. The nominees were ''[[An Awfully Big Adventure (novel)|An Awfully Big Adventure]]'', ''[[Every Man for Himself (novel)|Every Man for Himself]]'', ''[[The Bottle Factory Outing]]'', ''[[The Dressmaker (Bainbridge novel)|The Dressmaker]]'' and ''[[Master Georgie]]'', which won.

Similarly, [[The Best of the Booker]] was awarded in 2008 to celebrate the prize's 40th anniversary. A shortlist of six winners was chosen — Rushdie's ''[[Midnight's Children]]'', Coetzee's ''[[Disgrace]]'', Carey's ''[[Oscar and Lucinda]]'', Gordimer's ''[[The Conservationist]]'', Farrell's ''[[The Siege of Krishnapur]]'', and Barker's ''[[The Ghost Road]]'' — and the decision was left to a public vote; the winner was again ''Midnight's Children''.<ref>{{cite news|first=Michelle| last=Pauli|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/feb/21/salmanrushdie|title=Best of the Booker|work=The Guardian|date=21 February 2008|access-date=3 September 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7499495.stm|title=Rushdie wins Best of Booker prize|publisher=BBC News|date=10 July 2008|access-date=3 September 2009}}</ref>

In 2018, to celebrate the 50th anniversary, the Golden Man Booker was awarded. One book from each decade was selected by a panel of judges: Naipaul's ''[[In a Free State]]'' (the 1971 winner), Lively's ''[[Moon Tiger]]'' (1987), Ondaatje's ''[[The English Patient]]'' (1992), Mantel's ''[[Wolf Hall]]'' (2009) and Saunders's ''[[Lincoln in the Bardo]]'' (2017). The winner, by popular vote, was ''The English Patient''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://themanbookerprize.com/goldenmanbooker/news/english-patient-michael-ondaatje-wins-golden-man-booker-prize|title=The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje wins the Golden Man Booker Prize|publisher=The Booker Prizes|date=8 July 2018}}</ref>

==Nomination==
Since 2014, each publisher's imprint may submit a number of titles based on their longlisting history (previously they could submit two). Non-longlisted publishers can submit one title, publishers with one or two longlisted books in the previous five years can submit two, publishers with three or four longlisted books are allowed three submissions, and publishers with five or more longlisted books can have four submissions.

In addition, previous winners of the prize are automatically considered if they enter new titles. Books may also be called in: publishers can make written representations to the judges to consider titles in addition to those already entered. In the 21st century the average number of books considered by the judges has been approximately 130.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Philip|last1= Jones|first2= Joshua|last2= Farrington|title=Man Booker Prize reveals criteria changes |work=[[The Bookseller]] |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/man-booker-prize-reveals-criteria-changes |date=18 September 2013}}</ref><ref name=Gompertz />

==Related awards==
A separate prize for which any living writer in the world may qualify, the [[Man Booker International Prize]], was inaugurated in 2005. Until 2015, it was given every two years to a living author of any nationality for a body of work published in English or generally available in English translation. In 2016, the award was significantly reconfigured, and is now given annually to a single book in English [[translation]], with a £50,000 prize for the winning title, shared equally between author and translator. The award has been known as the International Booker Prize since the Man Group ended its association with the prizes in 2019.

A Russian version of the Booker Prize was created in 1992 called the [[Booker-Open Russia Literary Prize]], also known as the Russian Booker Prize. In 2007, Man Group plc established the [[Man Asian Literary Prize]], an annual literary award given to the best novel by an Asian writer, either written in English or translated into English, and published in the previous calendar year.

For many years, as part of ''[[The Times]]''{{'s}} [[Cheltenham Literature Festival|Literature Festival]] in [[Cheltenham]], a Booker event was held on the last Saturday of the festival. Four guest speakers/judges debated a shortlist of four books from a given year from before the introduction of the Booker Prize, and a winner was chosen. Unlike the real Booker Prize (1969 through 2014), writers from outside the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] were also considered. In 2008, the winner for 1948 was [[Alan Paton]]'s ''[[Cry, the Beloved Country]]'', beating [[Norman Mailer]]'s ''[[The Naked and the Dead]]'', [[Graham Greene]]'s ''[[The Heart of the Matter]]'' and [[Evelyn Waugh]]'s ''[[The Loved One (book)|The Loved One]]''. In 2015, the winner for 1915 was [[Ford Madox Ford]]'s ''[[The Good Soldier]]'', beating ''[[The Thirty-Nine Steps]]'' ([[John Buchan]]), ''[[Of Human Bondage]]'' ([[W. Somerset Maugham]]), ''[[Psmith, Journalist]]'' ([[P. G. Wodehouse]]) and ''[[The Voyage Out]]'' ([[Virginia Woolf]]).<ref>Haslam, Sara (13 October 2015), [http://www.fordmadoxfordsociety.org/blog/fords-the-good-soldier-wins-the-cheltenham-booker-1915-at-2015-festival "Ford's The Good Soldier Wins The Cheltenham Booker 1915 at 2015 Festival"]. Ford Madox Oxford Society. Retrieved 27 November 2016.</ref>

In October 2025, the Booker Foundation announced the [[Children's Booker Prize]], supported by AKO Foundation, for the best contemporary fiction for children aged 8-12. The inaugural prize would be awarded in 2027 and be awarded annually thereafter.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-childrens-booker-prize|title=The Children’s Booker Prize|publisher=The Booker Prizes|access-date=3 November 2025}}</ref> The jury's first chairperson is [[Frank Cottrell-Boyce]], who has been serving since 2024 as [[Children's Laureate]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Novels|Literature|Writing|Ireland}}
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order ♦♦♦--->
* [[Baillie Gifford Prize]] (formerly the Samuel Johnson Prize)
* [[Commonwealth Foundation prizes|Commonwealth Writers Prize]]
* [[Costa Book Awards]]
* [[German Book Prize]] (Deutscher Buchpreis)
* [[Giller Prize]] (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005 to 2023)
* [[Governor General's Awards]]
* [[Grand Prix of Literary Associations]]
* [[Miles Franklin Award]]
* [[Prix Goncourt]]
* [[Russian Booker Prize]]
* [[List of British literary awards]]
* [[List of literary awards]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |first=Hermione |last=Lee |title=The Booker Prize: Matters of Judgment |journal=[[The Times Literary Supplement]] |date=22 October 2008 |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article4991293.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616084604/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article4991293.ece |archive-date=16 June 2011 }}
* {{cite book |first=Luke |last=Strongman |title=The Booker Prize and the Legacy of Empire |year=2002 |publisher=Rodopi |location=Amsterdam |isbn=9789042014985}}
* {{cite journal |first=Louisa |last=Wagstaff |title=Has the Booker Prize changed "Literature"? |journal=[[Palatinate (newspaper)|Palatinate]] |date=29 October 2023 |url=https://www.palatinate.org.uk/has-the-booker-prize-changed-literature/}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website}} (The Booker Prize)
* {{Official website|https://thebookerprizes.com/about-the-booker-prize-foundation}} (Booker Prize Foundation)
* [https://www.brookes.ac.uk/library/collections/special-collections/publishing-and-literary-prizes/booker-prize-archive The Booker Prize Archive] at [[Oxford Brookes University]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929040559/http://www.turbobooksnob.com/ A primer on the Man Booker Prize and critical review of literature]

{{Booker Prize}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Booker Prize| ]]
[[Category:1968 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Awards established in 1968]]
[[Category:Booker authors' division]]
[[Category:British fiction awards]]
[[Category:English-language literary awards]]
[[Category:Oxford Brookes University]]