new website launched
Intimate insights into the lives of Man Booker Prize
writers and judges, an interactive timeline from 1969 to the present and the
latest news from the literary world: just some of the treasures that can be
found on the new-look website for the Man Booker Prizes, launched on Friday 20
July.
Reflecting the evolution of the Man Booker awards in
the digital era, the enhanced site will continue to focus on the very best in
fiction whilst allowing visitors to experience the prizes in greater depth and
across a variety of new platforms and formats. It’s never been easier to keep
up with prize news online, be it on pocket-sized smartphones, tablets or
widescreen monitors. Live feeds from Twitter and Facebook also mean
up-to-the-minute updates on what people are saying about the prizes and the
wider world of literature.
Regular features will include video interviews with
highly acclaimed writers, kicking off with Howard Jacobson talking about his
experience of winning the 2010 prize and writing his new novel, Zoo Time,
as well as Kazuo Ishiguro and Sarah Waters, talking about the impact of the Man
Booker Prize on their careers and giving a behind-the-scenes glimpse of their
writing habits and favourite authors. For the next month, visitors will also
have the chance to watch an exclusive interview with 2011 Man Booker Prize
winner, Julian Barnes, as he speaks candidly about his experience of being
shortlisted and, finally, winning the prize.
As well as hearing about prize-winning authors, two
key names behind the prizes – Ion Trewin, Literary Director of the Booker Prize
Foundation, and Fiammetta Rocco, Administrator of the Man Booker International
– will give an insight into what it is to oversee a leading literary prize.
There will also be podcasts from the prize season, such as Dame Stella
Rimington’s winner announcement at last year’s award ceremony, as well as
interviews with 2011 shortlisted authors.
Additionally, in the coming months there will be
picture galleries from Man Booker Prize events and an events calendar to help
book lovers keep up with writers and judges throughout the year, from local
bookshop signings to major literary festivals.
Visitors to the new site can also explore the history
of the prizes through an online archive; over 40 years of fascinating facts
from 1969 to the present day. This timeline allows visitors to filter
information by years, prizes, books, judges and writers.
The Man Booker Prize celebrates its 44th
year in 2012, whilst the Man Booker International Prize will award its fifth
winner in 2013. In the last year alone, the Man Booker Prizes website has
attracted in excess of a million visitors from across the globe, whilst its
Twitter feed has accrued almost 15,000 followers. The new website is the latest
in a series of digital initiatives for the prize, which include a Man Booker
Prize room on Apple's iBookstore and Kindles for Man Booker Prize judges.
The 2012 Man Booker Prize judges will announce ‘The
Booker Dozen’, their longlist of 12 or 13 titles, on 25 July 2012, followed by
a shortlist of six titles on 11 September. The winner of the 2012 Man
Booker Prize will be announced at London’s Guildhall at an awards ceremony on
16 October 2012.
Expect to see "The Forrests" in the longlist folks!
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