NoViolet Bulawayo, Percival Everett, Alan Garner, Shehan Karunatilaka, Claire Keegan and Elizabeth Strout are today, Tuesday September 6th, announced as the six authors shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2022. Announced live from an event at the Serpentine Pavilion in London, and streamed to readers around the world via the Booker Prizes website and social media channels. The six shortlisted authors each receive £2,500 and a specially bound edition of their book.
The six shortlisted authors represent five different nationalities and four continents, with an equal split of men and women on the list.
Zimbabwean author NoViolet Bulawayo makes her second shortlist appearance with Glory, following We Need New Names in 2013.
The majority of the shortlist is inspired by real events, from the Sri Lankan civil war and the fall of Mugabe to the Magdalene laundries scandal and the murder of Emmett Till.
The list features the oldest author ever to be shortlisted: octogenarian Alan Garner with Treacle Walker; he will celebrate his 88th birthday on the night of the winner ceremony.
Half of the list is published by independent publishers, including first time appearances from Influx Press and Sort of Books.
At 116 pages, Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These is the shortest book by page numbers to be recognised in the prize’s history – the shortest to win was Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald (1979) at 132 pages. Although Treacle Walker is shorter by word count.
This year’s shortlist were chosen by the 2022 judging panel: cultural historian, writer and broadcaster Neil MacGregor (Chair); academic and broadcaster Shahidha Bari; historian Helen Castor; novelist and critic M John Harrison; and novelist, poet and professor Alain Mabanckou.
Their selection was made from 169 novels published between October 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022 and submitted to the prize by publishers. The Booker Prize is open to works by writers of any nationality, written in English and published in the UK or Ireland.
The 2022 Shortlist is:
NoViolet Bulawayo (Zimbabwean) with Glory
Percival Everett (US) with The Trees
Alan Garner (British) with Treacle Walker
Shehan Karunatilaka (Sri Lankan) with The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
Claire Keegan (Irish) with Small Things Like These
Elizabeth Strout (US) with Oh William!
Neil MacGregor, Chair of the 2022 Judges, says:
"These six books we believe speak powerfully about important things. Set in different places at different times, they are all about events that in some measure happen everywhere, and concern us all. Each written in English, they demonstrate what an abundance of Englishes there are, how many distinct worlds, real and imaginary, exist in that simple-seeming space, the Anglosphere.
"Two — Oh, William! and Treacle Walker — are about the inner life, as a young boy and a middle-aged woman, in their particular ways, come to a new understanding of who they are and what they might become. The other four books address long national histories of cruelty and injustice, in Sri Lanka and Ireland, Zimbabwe and the United States, and in each case the enduring historical tensions provide the dilemmas in which the characters, like their societies, are put on the rack.
"Why did we choose these six?
"In every one, the author uses language not only to tell us what happens, but to create a world which we, outsiders, can enter and inhabit — and not merely by using words from local languages or dialects. NoViolet Bulawayo’s incantatory repetitions induct us all into a Zimbabwean community of memory and expectation, just as Alan Garner’s shamanic obliquities conjure a realm that reason alone could never access. Percival Everett and Shehan Karunatilaka spin fantastical verbal webs of Gothic horror — and humour — that could not be further removed from the hypnotic, hallucinatory clarity of Claire Keegan’s and Elizabeth Strout’s pared-down prose. Most important, all affirm the importance and the power of finding and sharing the truth."
The 2022 winner will be announced on Monday October 17th in an award ceremony held at the Roundhouse and fully in person for the first time since 2019. The winner receives £50,000 and can expect international recognition and a dramatic increase in global book sales.
The announcement will be broadcast live as part of a Front Row special on BBC Radio 4 from 9.15-10.00pm, with TV coverage expected to run on BBC News at Ten and news channels.
Ahead of the winner announcement, there will be two opportunities for readers to hear from the shortlisted authors in person. In an event held in partnership with Waterstones, the writers will appear in conversation at the Shaw Theatre in Kings Cross, London, on Friday October 14th. Chaired by broadcaster and journalist Bidisha, the six authors will each deliver a reading from their shortlisted book.
The following day, on Saturday October 15th, the shortlisted authors will be take part in The Times & The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival. The Booker Prize shortlist event will be chaired by Director of the Booker Prize Foundation, Gaby Wood.
The 2021 Booker Prize for Fiction was won by Damon Galgut with The Promise. In the two weeks after it won the 2021 Booker Prize The Promise sold 1,925% more copies in the UK than it had in the previous two weeks. According to The Bookseller, in the 12 weeks after his win, Galgut sold more copies of his books that he had in the previous 17 years since first being published in the UK. Rights to The Promise have been sold in 35 territories.
The first public event with the Booker Prize 2022 winner takes place on Thursday October 20th at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of London Literature Festival 2022, alongside Galgut, who will hand over the baton. The 2022 winner and Galgut are in conversation with novelist and former lawyer Sara Collins.
We are running a competition to win the shortlist here, enter the competition now!
@TheBookerPrizes | #BookerPrize2022
Comments (87)
Georgie W - 9th October 2022
I'd read Treacle Walker first.Glynis O - 9th October 2022
Can’t wait to read Treacle Walkerlynn n - 9th October 2022
I would read Oh William first, it looks interesting!Amelia M - 9th October 2022
I’d read small things like these by Claire keegan first!Angela M - 9th October 2022
My first read would be Oh William!Jillanne D - 9th October 2022
I would read Glory first to remind me of my own experiences in Zimbabwe under 'that man'.Marion P - 9th October 2022
Some amazing books love to read them all!Andi G - 9th October 2022
I would read Treacle Walker first, great set of booksRuth C - 8th October 2022
Oh William!Tracy B - 8th October 2022
If I was lucky enough to win I think I'd read Treacle Walker by Alan Garner firstMary B - 8th October 2022
I can't wait to read Treacle Walker, although Oh William is a very close second.Lauren O - 8th October 2022
Percival Everett with The TreesMichael O - 8th October 2022
Small Things Like These by Claire KeeganHoratia R - 8th October 2022
Amazing books, they all look an interesting read.Patricia A - 7th October 2022
When reading the synopsis of Treacle Walker so many childhood memories of the 1950s were rekindled. I love it when books give me that feeling of nostalgia.Victoria P - 7th October 2022
I'd like to read Oh William! first, I think. Hard decision!JULIE W - 7th October 2022
Small things like theseSharon C - 7th October 2022
Elizabeth Strout (US) with Oh William! would definitely been on my list of books to read firstAnthea H - 7th October 2022
I would read Oh William! first because I have read the synopsis and I love the sound of it.Sue H - 7th October 2022
Oh William, I like family sagasclaire m - 7th October 2022
The Trees sounds like an intriguing story that feels especially relevant in today's society.Hazel R - 6th October 2022
I think I would start with Oh William!Sheri D - 6th October 2022
Oh William! sounds a wonderful bookChristine L - 6th October 2022
Small Things Like These would be my first readDebbie T - 6th October 2022
I think I would read Oh William! first as I love anything to do with New York and this sounds like just my kind of read, although I would love to read all of them!Russ D - 5th October 2022
If I was lucky enough to win I would read Treacle Walker first! Good luck everyone ?Margaret G - 5th October 2022
Elizabeth Stouts book - amazing writerLisa W - 2nd October 2022
Treacle Walker by Alan GarnerHilary C - 1st October 2022
Alan Garner is a must read for me, I have loved his writing since I was a childholly h - 30th September 2022
If I won i would read treacle walker firstSarah N - 29th September 2022
I'd read Small Things Like These first.Sarah A - 29th September 2022
They are all fantastic books.lorraine k - 29th September 2022
I would love to read The Trees - that would be at the top of my 'to read' pileClaire F - 29th September 2022
Treacle Walker by Alan GarnerPeter W - 29th September 2022
Claire Keegan (Irish) with Small Things Like These is my first choice for a readClaire D - 29th September 2022
I would love to read first Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These.Morven B - 28th September 2022
I'd read The TreesRebecca S - 28th September 2022
I would love to read GloryKathryn C - 28th September 2022
I can't wait to read all of them, to be honest. However I'll start with Oh William! as I adore Elizabeth Strout and couldn't put down her Olive Kitteridge books! Fingers crossed.Matthew C - 28th September 2022
Very informative. Thanks for postingVinh V - 28th September 2022
I can't wait to read these books!Jen H - 28th September 2022
A tantalising shortlist from around the globe. Can't wait to dive into some/all of them. And thanks to Love Reading for the opportunity to win them all - fingers crossed!LINDA F - 28th September 2022
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida sounds like my kind of book. It is James Patterson with an exotic twist and is a welcome addition to the thriller genre, or is it crime genre, or is it something else entirely? A book which will appeal to a wide ranging audience whose reading preference lies in one of several genres.Siobhan R - 28th September 2022
I would def read The Trees first, although they all sound interesting!Leanne N - 28th September 2022
Interesting mix of books on the shortlist, looking forward to reading them all!Jade E - 28th September 2022
Oh William! looks like just my kind of book, think this will be the first on the list to read :)Liam O - 27th September 2022
Looks a good selectionH K - 27th September 2022
I can’t to read Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo as I have read her book, “we need new names”. It was one of the first books I read when I came to this country from SpainAngela N - 26th September 2022
I would love to read Glory, it seems like such an interesting premise.MARIA R - 23rd September 2022
I would love to read The Treacle Walker first!Anna-Maria T - 22nd September 2022
Fabulous listCaroline J - 21st September 2022
I'd read The Trees by Percival Everett first - it looks a great read.EMMA W - 21st September 2022
Small Things Like These sonds fascinatingGraeme D - 21st September 2022
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan KarunatilakaMelissa L - 21st September 2022
I would love to read The Trees firstKate M - 21st September 2022
I’d read Alan Garner with Treacle WalkerVivien B - 21st September 2022
Alan Garner Treacle WalkerDawn S - 20th September 2022
The Trees by Percival Everett xSusan B - 18th September 2022
A fascinating list of books but I am drawn to Small Things Like These due to its connections to the Magdalene laundries.Marion G - 16th September 2022
I would love to read 'Oh, William!'Mark T - 14th September 2022
Treacle Walker - I loved Alan Garner's novels when I was younger, and it is already on my wish list for the future.Pippa A - 13th September 2022
Oh, William! by Elizabeth Strout, she's a real favourite and I'm looking forward to reading this one.Hayley A - 12th September 2022
Treacle Walker by Alan GarnerKaiesha P - 12th September 2022
What an amazing giveaway. Needed some new books.Helen W - 12th September 2022
The Trees by Percival Everett would be the first book that I would read it looks greatAna N - 12th September 2022
Claire Keegan with Small Things Like These ! :)Freya G - 11th September 2022
Fantastic competitionLynne B - 11th September 2022
An amazing shortlist!Laura P - 11th September 2022
I'd read The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida first!Margaret C - 11th September 2022
Treacle Walker by Alan GarnerMark F - 11th September 2022
All these books sound good, but I would opt to first read Treacle Walker by Alan Garner.Priscilla S - 11th September 2022
Small Things like these would be my first choicePriscilla S - 11th September 2022
Small Things like these would be my first choiceamy S - 11th September 2022
I always love seeing who wins i'll read treacle walkerHazel W - 11th September 2022
I can't wait to read The Trees! I love Percival Everett's other books!Leila B - 10th September 2022
I will read Shehan Karunatilaka (Sri Lankan) with The Seven Moons of Maali AlmeidaMike B - 10th September 2022
The first book I would read is Small Things Like These by Claire Keeganclaire w - 10th September 2022
Claire Keegan (Irish) with Small Things Like TheseKhadija Q - 10th September 2022
I would read Oh William!Annabel G - 10th September 2022
Great shortlist, looking forward to enjoying reading someSally C - 9th September 2022
Oh Wow! How amazing, this is a wonderful prize and such a gorgeous treat!Paul S - 8th September 2022
Treacle Walker by Alan GarnerJordan T - 8th September 2022
Love the sound of all of these!Lisa D - 8th September 2022
All of these books look fab but I would particularly like to read The Trees by Percival Everett as I love crime and mystery books.Susie W - 7th September 2022
Percival Everett's The Trees sounds right up my street!Julia L - 7th September 2022
I would read The Trees firstJulie T - 7th September 2022
I would read The Trees by Percival Everett first as it interests me.Leave A Reply
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