Chip Rolley, Artistic Director of the Sydney Writers Festival, and an American who calls Sydney home, in conversation with Rick Gekoski, Chairman of the Man Booker International Prize judging panel, and an American who calls London home, on the very timely subject of choosing the winner of that prize.
Overnight of course one of the judging panel, Carmen Callil, a London-based Australian publisher, had resigned from the judging panel in protest at Philip Roth winning the prize.(see story in Guardian)
Unsurprisingly then the conversation started on this subject with judging chair Gekoski talking at length about the judging process and concluding by explaining that after many hours of discussion and debate he decided as Chair that as two of the judges passionately believed Philip Roth should win and one dissented then he would accept the majority decision rather than compromise by selecting someone else.
He made the point very clearly that rarely if ever does a panel of judges ever reach a unanimous decision, something I can confirm from having been a judge on numerous book awards. He also spoke very warmly and generously of Carmen Callil's contribution to the judging process that took place over 18 months.
Rolley, and excellent Chair by the way, and Gekoski had a wide ranging discussion on Philip Roth and his long and illustrious career which includes many awards.
Then came a delightful surprise, a 20 minute video interview with Philip Roth made only a few days ago when he had just leaned of his win. In the video Roth looked back over his career including his university years, his years as a teacher,and of course his books and what inspired them and the writers who influenced him. It was great stuff - fascinating, compelling and he proved to be a gracious and generous subject. At one point he said that had his friend John Updike not died two years before then he would surely have been sitting here today rather than me.
Rick Gekoski must be the busiest man in Sydney, this is about the fourth session where he has either been the chair or the subject of a panel.
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