The power of a great novel should not be underestimated. Books not only evoke imagination; they also take one to a completely new world, allow someone to put themselves in other people’s shoes and enrich our lives in ways that many other things are unable to do.
This is why literary awards are an exciting time to discover new works of fiction and authors that you may otherwise not reach for. Whether it’s David Diop’s International Booker Prize-winning novel At Night All Blood Is Black or this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction crowned title Piranesi by Susanna Clarke.
But, if your reading list is in need of a real overhaul, then you’ll be glad to learn that the Booker Prize for Fiction shortlist has just been announced and this year’s gongs have highlighted a dazzling array of literature.
The prize recognises the best fiction written in the English language and published in the UK and Ireland between 1 October 2020 and 30 September 2021. And this year’s collection covers an extensive range of genres and themes, including loss, race and prejudice, as well as engaging with a diverse range of settings from across the globe, allowing you to travel and learn with every page.
This year’s judges include Maya Jasanoff (chair), Horatia Harrod, Natascha McElhone, Chigozie Obioma, and Archbishop Rowan Williams. And they had the near-impossible task of whittling a stellar longlist to a line-up of just six titles, which includes one debut novelist, Patricia Lockwood.
The news comes after last year’s winner, Douglas Stuart, took the crown for his novel Shuggie Bain. Set in working-class Glasgow, it follows the heartbreaking and emotive relationship between Hugh “Shuggie” Bain and his mother, Agnes. The novel sold more than 25,000 copies in the UK in the first full week after the announcement.
But, in honour of this year’s shortlist, we’ve taken a look at the novels. Join us in championing and supporting these writers by reading their inspiring and remarkable novels, which will stay with you long after you’ve put them down. The winner will be announced on Wednesday 3 November, so you’ve not got long to get through them all.
