DOCSLIB.ORG

Orlandorlandoo, FL American Library Association C Elebrate with Winners of the Andrew Carnegie Medals Iet Thanh Nguyen Karin Slaughter

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Orlandorlandoo, FL American Library Association C Elebrate with Winners of the Andrew Carnegie Medals Iet Thanh Nguyen Karin Slaughter COGNOTES CONFERENCE&EXHIBITION JUNE 23-28 JUNE 23–28, 2016 JUNE PREVIEW Edition ORLANDOrlandoO, FL AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION C elebrate with Winners of the Andrew Carnegie Medals iet Thanh Nguyen Karin Slaughter. a table for 10 to enjoy the exciting evening and Sally Mann, Tickets for the 2016 celebration are avail- with chosen friends and colleagues – get Vauthors of the win- able at the 2016 ALA Annual Conference details about table reservations here. ning titles of the 2016 An- website when you register for the conference drew Carnegie Medals for or may be added later. You can also purchase » see page 4 Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, will join Annual Conference attendees at the celebratory 2016 event on Saturday, June 25, 8:00 – 10:00 p.m., at the Hilton Sally Mann Viet Thanh Nguyen Orlando. Billy Collins, U.S. Poet Laureate 2001-2003 – described by for Excellence event includes the program Bruce Weber in the New York Times as “the hosted by the current selection committee most popular poet in America” – will be the chair, Donna Seaman, and a lively dessert featured speaker. Nguyen’s novel The Sym- and drinks reception where attendees mingle pathizer won the fiction medal, and Mann’s with winning authors, speakers, colleagues, memoir, Hold Still: A Memoir with Photo- editors, and ALA leaders. Other winners who graphs won the nonfiction medal. Mann and have attended the event include Anthony Nguyen will each speak after accepting their Doerr, Timothy Egan, Richard Ford, Doris medals and $5,000 checks. The winning Kearns Goodwin, Donna Tartt, and Bryan titles were announced for the first time at Stevenson (of whose speech Publishers Weekly the Midwinter Meeting in January, 2016. asked, “Is This the Greatest Book Award Ac- New walkways connect nearby hotels to the Orange County Convention A conference highlight now in its fifth ceptance Speech Ever?”). Featured speakers Center (OCCC) West Building. year, this popular Andrew Carnegie Medals have included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Libraries Transform at the 2016 Annual Conference he ALA national public awareness about the library of the future and how to them at the Libraries Transform: Tools and partnerships, Sessions take place in ROS and advocacy campaign, Libraries lead change in your library. In addition to Training session, Saturday, June 25, 1:00 – PLAZA-Ballroom G. Transform, encompasses how li- what’s listed here, you can use the Confer- 2:30 p.m. in ROS CENTRE-Salon 03/04. T » see page 16 braries and librarians are preparing for and ence Scheduler at alaannual.org/scheduler Visit librariestransform.org to register for leading change that transforms lives in the to find transformation-related sessions, pro- the campaign and get access to free tools communities they serve. The Annual Confer- grams, speakers, and resources. ence offers many opportunities to learn more and events. Here are QUICK LOOK You can get some program involved in Li- highlights re- Exhibits braries Transform lated to Libraries Friday, June 24 while you’re in Transform. You 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Orlando. Head over to the ALA Lounge can get more information and add these Saturday & Sunday, June 25-26 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. sessions to your schedule here. and Networking Uncommons for Librar- Monday, June 27 ies Transform ribbons and stickers, and for 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. some related fun activities including the Library of the Future sessions, chance to show your support of #Libraries- sponsored by the ALA Center Registration OPEN NOW! for the Future of Libraries Transform by snapping a picture at the pho- CLICK HERE TO REGISTER to booth. Get ideas for how to implement Library of the Future sessions are de- the campaign in your library, learn about signed to connect with innovators and Auditorium Speaker Series free tools and resources, and hear from change experts and help us understand Saturday, Sunday & Monday June 25-26-27 some of the 2,700 libraries that have already trends that point to possible futures for signed up and the colleagues who are using library services, spaces, collections, and CLICK BELOW FOR ... TRAVEL EXHIBITS REGISTRATION CONFERENCE SCHEDULER & HOUSING INFORMATION 2 COGNOTES JUNE PREVIEW • ORLANDO March with Congressman John Lewis, Author Michael Eric Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell ongress- Dyson Opens 2016 Annual man CJohn Conference and Exhibition Lewis – renowned amed by Essence magazine as one of NPR’s “The Michael Eric Dyson Show.” civil rights leader of the 50 most inspiring African His most recent book, The Black Presidency: and co-author Americans in the U.S., Michael Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in of the acclaimed N Eric Dyson will open the ALA America, is provoking graphic novel se- conference on Friday, June 24, wide and engaged dis- ries March – will 4:00 – 5:15 p.m. Dyson provides cussion. make a special ap- some of the most significant com- Dyson, a Georgetown pearance with his mentary on contemporary social University professor, award-winning and intellectual thought, interwo- bridges gaps between March co-creators ven with cultural criticism, race generations, connect- at the 2016 ALA theory, religion, philosophical ing civil rights identity Annual Confer- reflection, and gender studies, and to hip-hop culture, and ence & Exhibi- was recommended by the ALA forging links between tion in in observa- Task Force on Equity, Diversity, older and younger tion of the 50th Nate Powell, Congressman John Lewis, and Andrew Aydin. and Inclusion to give the 2016 Americans, especially anniversary of Annual Conference a stimulat- black Americans. As a the National Endowment for the Humanities hour book signing will immediately follow. ing and thought-provoking start. cutting-edge historian, (NEH), on Saturday, June 25, 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. Often called “one of the most coura- Taking on tough and controversial Michael Eric Dyson he reaches beyond race, Lewis and March co-creators Andrew geous persons the civil rights movement issues, Dyson – one of the nation’s (photo by Nina Subin) addressing the universal Aydin and Nate Powell will discuss the legacy ever produced,” Lewis has dedicated his life most renowned public intellectu- commonality of Ameri- of the civil rights movement, the power of to protecting human rights and securing als – is the author of 17 books including the can concern. Other recent topics have visual literature to educate and inspire today’s civil liberties. Despite physical attacks, American Book Award-winning Come Hell or included racial profiling and its impact on youth, and the crucial role of libraries in our serious injuries, and more than 40 arrests, High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of black America, and Dr. King for the 21st democracy. NEH Chairman William D. Disaster, a New York Times op-ed contributor, Century. His appearance at the conference Adams will introduce the event, and a one- see page 20 an MSNBC political analyst, and former host is sponsored by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Immigration Reform Award-winning Author Advocate, Actress Margaret Atwood is Diane Guerrero on ALA Auditorium Speaker ward-winning and President’s Program bestselling author iane Guerrero will be the featured ship and Naturalization. An outspoken AMargaret Atwood speaker at ALA President Sari advocate for commonsense, comprehensive will appear as an Audito- Feldman’s President’s Program immigration reform, Guerrero was taken rium Speaker at the 2016 D ALA Annual Conference during the 2016 Annual in by other Colombian Conference. “America’s li- families in Boston after her on Saturday, June 25, 10:30 braries have advanced the family was deported with- – 11:30 a.m. Atwood is the American Dream by pro- out warning to Colombia award-winning author of viding services and re- when she was 14. She has more than 40 books of fic- sources that welcome and worked with Immigrant tion, poetry, children’s lit- support all immigrants,” Legal Resource Center erature, and critical essays, said Feldman. “Diane and Mi Familia Vota, a including The Handmaid’s Guerrero’s personal story nonpartisan Latino civic Tale, the Booker Prize- is a powerful reminder of engagement organization, winning The Blind Assassin, the library’s essential role to promote citizenship and The Heart Goes Last , and in creating individual voter registration. the MaddAddam trilogy opportunity and com- Guerrero, who has a that began with the Man- munity progress.” The degree in political science Booker prize nominated President’s Program will and communication as Oryx and Crake, continued Margaret Atwood (photo by Liam Sharp) with The Year of the Flood, take place on Sunday, Diane Guerrero well as studying vocal June 26, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. music, has appeared on nu- and ended with MaddAddam. it has been to wrestle with it!” Well known as an actress on the hit merous TV series and in feature films. In Her forthcoming book The Tempest (Octo- Atwood’s work has been published in shows “Orange is the New Black” and 2015, Variety named her one of the top 10 ber 2016), is part of the Hogarth Shakespeare more than 40 languages, including Farsi, “Jane the Virgin,” Guerrero also volun- Latina actresses to watch, and she received project that sees Shakespeare’s works retold by Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelan- teers with the nonprofit Immigrant Legal a Screen Actors Guild award for her role acclaimed and bestselling novelists of today. dic, and Estonian, and she has won many Resource Center and in 2015 was named as Maritza Ramos on the award-winning Atwood has consistently named William international awards. She has served as a White House Ambassador for Citizen- Netflix series, “Orange is the New Black.” Shakespeare as one of the most important President of the Writers’ Union of Canada, Her forthcoming memoir, In the Country influences on her own work.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Little Life
    A Little Life Author Background Hanya Yanagihara Born: 20th September 1974 in Los Angeles Raised: Hawaii, New York City, Baltimore, California and Texas Resides in: New York City Book Groups @ Blue Mountains Library Hanya Yanagihara was born in Los Angeles, California, a fourth-generation Hawaiian, to a haematologist/oncologist father from Hawaii and a mother who was born in Seoul. She frequently moved around the United States as a child, due to her father's occupation. The family lived in multiple locations, including Hawaii, New York, Maryland, California, and Texas. She attended Punahou High School in Hawaii. Yanagihara graduated from Smith College in 1995 and moved to New York , where she worked for many years as a publicist. In 2007 Yanagihara began working for Conde Nast Traveller, later becoming an editor there before moving to the New York Times Style Magazine in 2015. Yanagihara’s first book,The People in the Trees, was published in 2013. It is based on the real-life case of virologist Daniel Carleton Gadjusek. Her second novel, A Little Life,was published in 2015 and was short-listed and became a finalist for many awards before winning the Kirkus Prize for Fiction in 2015. A Little Life was written in only eighteen months after Yanagihara worked on it in a “fevered state” every evening and weekend. The character of Jude came to Yanagihara fully formed, and she had “had the characters in (her) head for a long time”. The book was written partly in response to a series of photographs that Yanagihara had been collecting through her adult life.
    [Show full text]
  • One Maryland One Book 2020 Reader's Guide
    ONE MARYLAND ONE BOOK 2020 READER'S GUIDE Maryland Humanities 108 West Centre Street Baltimore, MD 21201 (410) 685-0095 www.mdhumanities.org A PROGRAM OF IN PARTNERSHIP WITH Historical Fiction © 2019 Scribner Historical LEAD SPONSORS SPONSORS ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM WHAT IF EVERYONE READ THE SAME BOOK AT THE SAME TIME, THEN CAME TOGETHER TO TALK ABOUT IT? ONE MARYLAND ONE BOOK 2020 When we read a great book, we can’t and then leave it somewhere for someone WELCOME LETTER wait to share the experience with others. else to find and enjoy. That’s one of the joys of reading. In this spirit, Maryland Humanities created One Maryland One Book to bring together REACH OUT diverse people in communities across the state through the shared experience of Each year, nearly 20,000 Marylanders read reading the same book. the One Maryland One Book selection. How many of those people are your friends Now in its thirteenth year, One Mary- or family? Use the book to jumpstart a land One Book remains Maryland’s only meaningful conversation in person or vir- Thank you for joining Maryland Humanities for the thirteenth year of One Maryland One Book, statewide community reading program. tually with an old friend or to make a new our state’s largest reading and discussion program. Since 2008, readers across Maryland have Each year, the selection process is guided one. embraced our annual tradition of bringing people together through the reading of one book by a common theme. The theme for 2020 selected by members of Maryland’s literary community.
    [Show full text]
  • Hanyfa Yanagifiara
    Quotidiano Data 21-04-2021 CORRIERE DELLA SERA Pagina 1+8/9 Foglio 1 / 3 LA SCRITTRICL DEVASTIAMO LA NATURA SENZA ALCUN RIMORSO L'americana Hanya Yanagihara, (origine hawaiana e coreana): «Per il progresso roviniamo la biodiversità e pensiamo solo a tornare a vivere come prima» di Roberta Scorranese L'INTERVISTA HANYFA YANAGIFIARA Devastiamo la natura e non ce ne rendiamo conto. v' Fra le intellettuali più brillanti di New York, la scrittrice di origine hawaiana e coreana sottolinea come la contrapposizione tra uomo e natura non sia nuova: «E una colonizzazione, distruggiamo la biodiversità in nome di progresso e scienza. E non stiamo imparando neppure dalla pandemia» di Roberta Scorranese Hanya Yanagihara, 46 anni, è una delle intellet- ne è così ricca di spunti che verrebbe voglia di tuali più brillanti di New York. Autrice di due tirare l'alba con questa donna di origini hawa- libri di successo, Una vita come tante (edito da iane, dalla personalità forte e precisa, come le Sellerio) e II popolo degli alberi (appena uscito parole che intreccia. in Italia da Feltrinelli), con la scrittura riesce a Il popolo degli alberi è stato definito "una fa- dare profondità ai personaggi, alle idee, ai luo- vola ecologica" perché mette in contrapposi- 052429 ghi. In particolare The people on the Tree, che zione l'azione degli esseri umani e la natura, è il suo primo libro anche se in Italia è stato spesso indifesa. tradotto solo l'anno scorso — da Francesco Pa- «In realtà non è sempre stata una contrapposi- cifico. Ci "incontriamo" nell'unico modo che zione, ci tengo a dirlo.
    [Show full text]
  • Summer Reading 2018
    Summer Reading 2018 Summer Reading 2018 The Friend by Sigrid Nunez Becoming the guardian of her late best friend's enormous Great Dane, a grieving wom- an is evicted from her no-pets apartment and forges a deep bond with the equally dis- traught animal in ways that initially disturb her friends. Summer Reading 2018 Commonwealth by Ann Patchett Find your new favorite book this summer! The story of two broken families and the paths their lives take over the course of 40 years, through love and marriage, death and divorce, and a dark secret from childhood that lies underneath it all. Suggestions from the Mt. Lebanon Public Library Visible Empire by Hannah Pittard Share with us what you’re reading on Twitter @MtLebLibrary When a devastating 1960s plane crash ends the lives of more than 100 prominent At- #LeboReads lanta citizens, the city's survivors navigate profound life changes at the same time they confront the dynamics of the Civil Rights era. Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia Fiction: A young music prodigy goes missing from a hotel room that was the site of an infa- Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott mous murder-suicide 15 years earlier, renewing trauma for a bridesmaid who wit- Kit Owens thought that she would never see Diane Fleming again. The pair were best nessed the first crime and rallying an eccentric cast of characters during a snowstorm friends in high school, until a confidence shared between them changed everything. Kit that traps everyone on the grounds. thinks she has moved on with her life, fulfilling the scientific dreams that Diane awak- ened within her.
    [Show full text]
  • Dialogue 2020
    Dialogue 2020 CAE BOOK GROUPS CATALOGUE CAE BOOK GROUPS 253 FLINDERS LANE, MELBOURNE CAE.EDU.AU / 03 9652 0620 Contents 4 5 3 Join or Start a Growing Up, Book Discussion Service. 527 Collins Street Introduction CAE Book Group Moving On Contact Us 11 Level 2, 253 Flinders Lane Exceptional Women Melbourne VIC 3000 17 P (03) 9652 0620 Artist, 23 E [email protected] Maker, Thinker Relationships W www.cae.edu.au 31 45 Sign up to our newsletter and like us Step Back in Time Families on Facebook to keep informed about upcoming literary events, book reviews, book and movie giveaways and lots more. 38 Grand VIsions Start your own group See page 4 for more information about 62 starting a group. Surviving, Prevailing Join an existing group Some of our existing groups are looking 55 70 for new members. Please contact CAE Journeys Dark Deeds Book Groups, and we will help you find a group in your area. 78 82 88 Index by Index by Index by Box Hill Institute trading as Centre for Adult Education RTO 4687 Author Title Box Number 91 Enrolment Form 3 Introduction Centre for Adult Education CAE is a leading provider of Adult and Community Education and Theme Icons has been providing lifelong learning opportunities to Victorians for 70 years. CAE has a strong focus on delivering nationally F Fiction Large Print recognised and accredited training as well as non accredited L Nonfiction short courses, and connects with the community through socially N Adapted Books inclusive practices that recognise diversity and creativity.
    [Show full text]
  • August Book Round Up
    August Book Round Up CRIME: THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEB - DAVID LAGERCRANTZ Steig Larsson's 'Girl with a Dragon Tattoo' trilogy was a publishing (and film) phenomenon back in 2008/2009, partly because of Larsson's untimely death just before the first book was published. Now the story of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist is continued in new novels by David Lagercrantz, a former crime reporter from Sweden, with the blessing of Larsson's family but not his partner, Eva Gabrielsson, who has said "It's about a publishing house that needs money, [and] a writer who doesn't have anything to write so he copies someone else." For fans it'll be interesting to discover how the story is continued, for bookshops it'll be intriguing to see if anyone is still interested! Published 27th August. YA: ASKING FOR IT – LOUISE O’NEILL This is a new Young Adult book that everyone is talking about – adults and teens alike. It’s from Irish author Louise O’Neill, whose previous book Only Ever Yours, a satire about how women look and behave, caused a real stir (it was kind of a modern-day Stepford Wives, commenting on physical expectations on young women). Asking For It is about sexual consent in the age of the smartphone. Emma lives in a small town in Ireland. She’s eighteen and beautiful, the most popular girl in school. After a party, she wakes up on her porch and can’t remember what happened. When she goes to school the next day, everything has changed.
    [Show full text]
  • Hanya Yanagihara Schrijfster Van De Bestseller ‘Een Klein Leven’
    Hoe zou het eigenlijk zijn met... HANYA YANAGIHARA SCHRIJFSTER VAN DE BESTSELLER ‘EEN KLEIN LEVEN’ anya Yanagiha- ‘Beheerst én mateloos, waarbij ik de zine, ’s avonds en ’s nachts als ra is 44 en klein schrijfster van romans. Over- van gestalte. Ze mateloosheid erg goed onder controle heb,’ dag is ze bezig met luxueus opent de deur zo omschrijft Hanya Yanagihara zichzelf. design en exclusieve archi- van haar loft in En die controle is nodig, want terwijl de tectuur, met elegantie en stijl, Hde wijk Soho in New York en met licht en glans. ’s Nachts vraagt ons na een korte, war- New Yorkse auteur van ‘Een klein leven’ met de krochten van het men- me begroeting om onze schoe- selijk bestaan. nen uit te trekken. Zodra je haar avonden en nachten vult met boeken Haar debuutroman ‘Noti- enkele passen op de zwart- schrijven, staat ze overdag nog aan het ties uit de jungle’ verscheen gelakte houten vloer hebt ge- in 2013, de Nederlandse ver- zet, begrijp je waarom Yana- hoofd van T Magazine, het lifestyleblad van taling volgde twee jaar later. gihara het vuil van de straat The New York Times. ‘En toch heb ik negen Het is het verhaal van een buiten haar appartement wil Amerikaanse wetenschapper, houden: aan het einde van de uur slaap nodig, hoor.’ ILKA PIEPGRAS Norton Perina, die tijdens een gang bereik je een overwel- expeditie in de jaren 50 diep digend grote, luchtige ruimte in de jungle van het ictieve vol boeken, kunstwerken en Zuidzee-eiland Ivu’ivu een allerhande bijzondere voor- volk ontdekt waarvan som- werpen, met felblauw en roze kunstobjecten, stofen en Jarenlang bezocht Yanagi- mige leden vele honderden geschilderde wanden.
    [Show full text]
  • Sixth Form Reading List Modern/Contemporary Fiction
    Sixth Form Reading List Modern/Contemporary Fiction The books on this list should act as a starting point for you to explore modern and contemporary fiction. They are not in any particular order but simply represent a wide selection of texts that might be considered more interesting and/or challenging than the majority. Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart Kazuo Ishiguro The Remains of the Day Jennifer Egan A Visit from the Goon Squad Never Let Me Go John Williams Stoner James Kelman How Late it Was, How Late Isabel Allende The House of the Spirits Donna Tartt The Secret History Maya Angelou I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Douglas Coupland Generation X Martin Amis Money Milan Kundera The Unbearable Lightness of Being London Fields Hanif Kureshi The Buddha of Suburbia Mark Haddon The Curious Incident of the Dog Doris Lessing Briefing for a Descent into Hell in the Nighttime Kamila Shamsie Home Fires Kate Atkinson Behind the Scenes at the Museum Robert Harris Fatherland Life after Life David Lodge Nice Work God In Ruins Gabriel Garcia Marquez One Hundred Years of Solitude Bret Easton Ellis American Psycho Cormac McCarthy All the Pretty Horses Hanya Yanagihara A Little Life The Road Margaret Atwood The Handmaid’s Tale Ian McEwan Enduring Love The Blind Assassin Atonement Paul Auster New York Trilogy Toni Morrison Beloved Iain Banks The Crow Road Iris Murdoch The Bell The Wasp Factory Anthony Doerr All the Light We Cannot See Sally Rooney Normal People Vladimir Nabokov Lolita Pat Barker Regeneration Trilogy Zadie Smith Swing Time Julian Barnes
    [Show full text]
  • American Academy of Arts and Letters Ceremonial
    AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND LETTERS CEREMONIAL MAY 19, 2021 2020 and 2021 new members and recipients of awards https://artsandletters.org/2021ceremonial/ BOARD OF DIRECTORS american academy of arts and letters president Billie Tsien 2018–2022 vice-president for architecture Annabelle Selldorf 2020–2024 vice-presidents for art Ann Hamilton 2019–2023 Martin Puryear 2018–2022 vice-presidents for literature Mary Gordon 2018–2022 Paul Muldoon 2019–2023 Jane Smiley 2019–2023 vice-presidents for music Tania León 2018–2022 Augusta Read Thomas 2020–2024 treasurer Louis Begley 2018–2022 secretary Lorrie Moore 2018–2022 executive director Cody Upton A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT The Academy’s Ceremonial film and this accompanying program are a record of the extraordinary architects, artists, writers, and composers the Academy has recognized in 2020 and in 2021. This past year has caused us all to evaluate our priorities and spurred us to reimagine who we might be as we move into the future. We are ever more committed to the support of creative work and now understand the profound need we all have to connect to our deepest selves through the power of the arts. Forward! Billie Tsien [ 3 ] CEREMONIAL PROGRAM Newly Elected Honorary Members of the Academy 10 American Honorary Members: Mikhail Baryshnikov, Spike Lee Foreign Honorary Members: Unsuk Chin, Balkrishna Doshi Newly Elected Members of the Academy 12 Department of Architecture: Marlon Blackwell, James Corner, Kathryn Gustafson, Walter Hood, Toshiko Mori, Nader Tehrani, Meejin Yoon Department of Art: Laurie Anderson, Mark Bradford, Mel Chin, Carroll Dunham, Theaster Gates, Michael Heizer, Glenn Ligon, Adrian Piper, Faith Ringgold, Betye Saar, Julian Schnabel, Amy Sillman, Lorna Simpson, Carrie Mae Weems Department of Literature: Hilton Als, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Edwidge Danticat, Mary Gaitskill, Joy Harjo, Barbara Kingsolver, Elizabeth Kolbert, Barry Lopez, Sigrid Nunez, Caryl Phillips, Leslie Marmon Silko, Mona Simpson, Tracy K.
    [Show full text]
  • Americans in the Man Booker Prize
    5 Editorial DOI: 10.1515/abcsj-2017-0016 Editorial Barbarians at the Gates? Americans in the Man Booker Prize When Paul Beatty received the 2016 Man Booker Prize for his novel The Sellout , at a glittering dinner in London’s Guildhall studded with distinguished guests in formal dress, he made history. His was the first novel by an American author to receive the 48-year-old award, widely considered the most prestigious prize for fiction in the English-speaking world. Whether his success was a success for the Booker Prize (as it has been called from the beginning and still is even after its official rebranding as the Man Booker Prize in 2002); whether this decision sounds the death-knell for British fiction; whether the Booker has lost its distinctiveness or increased it; what the purpose of literary prizes is, after all, and what gives them their value: all these are among the questions posed by the decision, in 2013, to open the competition to US authors. The contretemps is worth pondering for what it reveals about globalism in the literary world, protectiveness and openness, and the recognition awards can provide. Background When the Booker Prize was established and first awarded, in 1969 (first winner: P.H. Newby’s Something to Answer For ), the rules were straightforward. It was a cash award “for the best novel in the English language, written by a Commonwealth or Irish citizen, and published in the UK” (Caine 2003, 14). There would be a shortlist of finalists, chosen from American, British and Canadian Studies / 6 all those titles submitted by their publishers; the decision would be made by a small group of expert judges, each of whom read all the submitted books.
    [Show full text]