Eleanor Catton Becomes Youngest Winner of the Man Booker Prize by Dave Agboola

Source: www.bbc.co.uk
 

Congratulations to Eleanor Catton, the Canadian-born and New Zealand-raised author who has made history by becoming the youngest winner of the Man Booker Prize. The 28 year-old won the £50,000 award for her novel The Luminaries. The 832-page book - which is set in the 19th-century goldfields of New Zealand - is also the longest work to win in the prize's history. The other authors on this year's Man Booker shortlist were NoViolet Bulawayo (for We Need New Names); Jim Crace (Harvest); Jhumpa Lahiri (The Lowland); Ruth Ozeki (A Tale for the Time Being); and Colm Toibin (The Testament of Mary). Each shortlisted writer received £2,500 and was presented with a hand-bound edition of his or her book.
Catton is the second writer from New Zealand to win the prize. The first was Keri Hulme in 1985 for The Bone People (her first and only novel). The previous youngest winner was Nigerian author Ben Okri, who was 32 when he won in 1991 for The Famished Road. Kiran Desai was previously the youngest woman to win (at the age of 35), for The Inheritance of Loss in 2006. This year marks the Man Booker Prize's 45th anniversary. It was won last year by Hilary Mantel for Bring Up the Bodies. Starting from next year the Prize will be open to authors writing in English from across the world – It is currently only awarded to English-language authors from countries in the Commonwealth of Nations, including the UK, Zimbabwe and Ireland. [Tweet "Congratulations to Eleanor Catton, youngest winner of the Man Booker!"]