Former Man Booker winner Julian Barnes says British writers will be damaged by letting in Americans
Julian Barnes
The novelist Julian Barnes has warned that changes to the Man Booker Prize rules mean it will be less likely to showcase up and coming talent, and predicted British writers will do less well in future
He told of his fears on the eve of the announcement of the next winner of UK publishing industry's best-known prize, and the last before US writers will be admitted for inclusion.
Barnes, a former winner of the prize himself in 2011 for The Sense Of An Ending, said he considered the changes to be a "bad idea" and said they appeared to be the result of trying to cash in on a new international market.
In an interview for BBC Radio 3's Essential Classics, he said of the inclusion of US writers: "I was surprised because I had never heard anyone in the publishing world talk in favour of such a move.
"I don't know quite where it came from: maybe from the top. Maybe it's just an example of capitalist expansionism. Once you've got one market sown up, you want to go after another.
"I think it's generally a bad idea. I think that prizes thrive on having some restriction to them."
More
"I think it's generally a bad idea. I think that prizes thrive on having some restriction to them."
More
