Booker Prize For Fiction 2006

The long list for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2006, one of the most prestigious book awards, was announced this week. Now in its thirty-eighth year, the prize aims to reward the best novel of the year written by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland. The winner receives £50,000 and both the winner and the short listed authors are guaranteed a worldwide readership plus a dramatic increase in book sales.

The short list will be published by September 14. The winner will be announced on October 15. The choices for the long list, short list, and the winner create great excitement in the book world. The bookmakers in England have Mitchell’s Black Swan Green as the 5-1 favorite so far. I hear that Messud’s The Emperor’s Children is excellent. Many of the authors have been on the list before or have won.

Here is the long list:
Carey, Peter Theft: A Love Story
Desai, Kiran The Inheritance of Loss
Edric, Robert Gathering the Water
Gordimer, Nadine Get a Life
Grenville, Kate The Secret River
Hyland, M.J. Carry Me Down
Jacobson, Howard Kalooki Nights
Lasdun, James Seven Lies
Lawson, Mary The Other Side of the Bridge
McGregor, Jon So Many Ways to Begin
Matar, Hisham In the Country of Men
Messud, Claire The Emperor’s Children
Mitchell, David Black Swan Green
Murr, Naeem The Perfect Man
O’Hagan, Andrew Be Near Me
Robertson, James The Testament of Gideon Mack
St Aubyn, Edward Mother’s Milk
Unsworth, Barry The Ruby in her Navel
Waters, Sarah The Night Watch

If you are interested in reading any of these, contact the library.
Source: Booker Prize Online