And the winner of the 2021 Booker Prize is . . .
First, we had the Booker Dozen. Then, we had the shortlist. And now, at last, in a (live, socially distanced) ceremony hosted by Samira Ahmed and broadcast live by the BBC, the winner of the 2021 Booker Prize has been announced. Congratulations to:
Damon Galgut, The Promise (South Africa)
Looks like the bookies were right again. Galgut takes home £50,000 and a lifetime of bragging rights.
This year’s prize was selected by Harvard historian Maya Jasanoff (chair), writer and editor Horatia Harrod, actor Natascha McElhone, twice Booker-shortlisted novelist Chigozie Obioma, and writer and former Archbishop Rowan Williams.
The other shortlisted books were:
Richard Powers, Bewilderment
Maggie Shipstead, Great Circle
Patricia Lockwood, No One is Talking About This
Nadifa Mohamed, The Fortune Men
Anuk Arudpragasam, A Passage North