I suspect the idea to make American novelists published in the UK eligible
for the Man Booker Prize stems from changes in the publishing and literary prize
landscape. The industry is consolidating; authors are increasingly peripatetic;
American and UK publishing lists are converging; and digital downloads don't
respect borders.
The chairman of this year's prize highlighted this cultural shift by
describing the shortlist as striking for its "global range". Edges have become
blurred regarding an author's nationality. Widening eligibility would help iron
out some of these awkward anomalies.
It would also help in defending the Booker from the potential threat posed by
the recently announced Folio Prize: a new £40,000 annual award for literary
fiction for which any novel written in English and published in the UK is
eligible.
Full BBC story here
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