Booker Prize 2024 shortlist announced; largest number of women represented this year

By  News On Air   Sep 17, 2024

The 2024 Booker Prize shortlist has been announced, with the largest number of women represented in its 55-year history. The list includes former Women’s Prize winner Anne Michaels, American writer Percival Everett and British author Samantha Harvey. Five of the six-strong shortlist are women, with authors from five countries represented, including the Netherlands for the first time.

Mr. Everett, a 2022 Booker finalist for “The Trees” is again nominated for “James,” which reimagines Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn” from the point of view of its main Black character, the enslaved man Jim. Rachel Kushner, another former Booker finalist with her bestseller “The Mars Room,” is a contender again with spy story “Creation Lake”.

The other finalists vying for the 50,000 pounds award are Britain’s Samantha Harvey, for “Orbital”. Canada’s Anne Michaels for “Held”, Australia’s Charlotte Wood for “Stone Yard Devotional” and Yael van der Wouden the first Dutch author to be shortlisted for the Booker for her debut, “The Safekeep”.