Latest news with #BookerPrizeFoundation
The Hindu
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Kiran Desai back in the longlist for ‘The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny'
Booker Prize-winning author Kiran Desai on Tuesday (July 29, 2025) returned to the coveted literary award longlist with The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, a novel described by the judges as a 'vast and immersive' tale about a pair of young Indians in America. The 53-year-old Delhi-born author, who won the Booker Prize 19 years ago in 2006 with The Inheritance of Loss, joins 12 writers from around the world for the so-called 'Booker Dozen' of 13 books that will be whittled down to six shortlisted titles by September. Desai's latest novel stands out as the longest on the longlist, weighing in at 667 pages and published by Hamish Hamilton. The shortest is Universality by Natasha Brown at 156 pages. 'She has spent almost 20 years writing The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. Should she win this year, she would become the fifth double winner in the prize's 56-year history,' Booker Prize Foundation said in a statement. 'Desai has a family history with the prize: her mother Anita Desai was shortlisted for the Booker three times,' it noted. According to the Booker Prize website, the novel follows the lives of Sonia and Sunny, two young people navigating the many forces that shape their lives: country, class, race, history, and the complicated bonds that link one generation to the next. The 2025 prize longlist was chosen from 153 submissions, celebrating the best works of long-form fiction by writers of any nationality writing in English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between October 2024 and 30 September 2025. 'The 13 longlisted novels bring the reader to Hungary, Albania, the north of England, Malaysia, Ukraine, Korea, London, New York, Trinidad and Greece, India and the West Country,' said Roddy Doyle, Booker Prize 2025 Chair of Judges. 'There are short novels and some very long ones. There are novels that experiment with form and others that do so less obviously. Some of them examine the past and others poke at our shaky present. They are all alive with great characters and narrative surprises. All, somehow, examine identity, individual or national, and all, I think, are gripping and excellent,' he said. Other works in the race to be shortlisted include Trinidadian author Claire Adam's Love Forms, Malaysian Tash Aw's The South, Canadian-Ukrainian Maria Reva's Ending, Hungarian-British David Szalay's Flesh and Albanian-American Ledia Xhoga's Misinterpretation. Four British authors in the running are: Natasha Brown with Universality, Jonathan Buckley with One Boat, Andrew Miller with The Land in Winter and Benjamin Wood with Seascraper. And, the three American authors completing the longlist include Susan Choi with Flashlight, Katie Kitamura with Audition and Ben Markovits with The Rest of Our Lives. 'The stories are set all over the world, and as we looked through the books we began to notice that their authors, all of them writing in English, had come from many different places too… It's the highest number of different nationalities we've seen on a Booker Prize longlist for a decade – yet British writers are strongly represented too,' said Gaby Wood, Chief Executive of the Booker Prize Foundation. 'Oh wow! Kiran Desai's The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is longlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize 19 years after The Inheritance of Loss won. What a staggering return! (Out in September!)' Manasi Subramaniam, editor-in-chief and vice-president at Penguin Random House India, which overlooks the Hamish Hamilton imprint, wrote on social media. Oh wow! Kiran Desai's The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is longlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize 19 years after The Inheritance of Loss won. What a staggering return! (Out in September!) — Manasi Subramaniam (@sorcerical) July 29, 2025 For the first time, the shortlist of six books will be announced at a public event, to be held at Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall in London on September 23. The winning book for 2025 will be announced on November 10 at a ceremony at Old Billingsgate in London, with the winner receiving GBP 50,000 (approx ₹58 lakh). The six shortlisted authors will each receive GBP 2,500 (approx Rs 2.90 lakh) and a specially bound edition of their book.
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Business Standard
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Standard
Kiran Desai returns to Booker longlist with new novel after 19 years
Booker Prize-winning author Kiran Desai on Tuesday returned to the coveted literary award longlist with The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny', a novel described by the judges as a vast and immersive tale about a pair of young Indians in America. The 53-year-old Delhi-born author, who won the Booker Prize 19 years ago in 2006 with The Inheritance of Loss', joins 12 writers from around the world for the so-called Booker Dozen of 13 books that will be whittled down to six shortlisted titles by September. Desai's latest novel stands out as the longest on the longlist, weighing in at 667 pages and published by Hamish Hamilton. The shortest is "Universality" by Natasha Brown at 156 pages. "She has spent almost 20 years writing The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny'. Should she win this year, she would become the fifth double winner in the prize's 56-year history, Booker Prize Foundation said in a statement. Desai has a family history with the prize: her mother Anita Desai was shortlisted for the Booker three times, it noted. According to the Booker Prize website, the novel follows the lives of Sonia and Sunny, two young people navigating the many forces that shape their lives: country, class, race, history, and the complicated bonds that link one generation to the next. The 2025 prize longlist was chosen from 153 submissions, celebrating the best works of long-form fiction by writers of any nationality writing in English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between October 2024 and 30 September 2025. "The 13 longlisted novels bring the reader to Hungary, Albania, the north of England, Malaysia, Ukraine, Korea, London, New York, Trinidad and Greece, India and the West Country, said Roddy Doyle, Booker Prize 2025 Chair of Judges. "There are short novels and some very long ones. There are novels that experiment with form and others that do so less obviously. Some of them examine the past and others poke at our shaky present. They are all alive with great characters and narrative surprises. All, somehow, examine identity, individual or national, and all, I think, are gripping and excellent, he said. Other works in the race to be shortlisted include Trinidadian author Claire Adam's Love Forms', Malaysian Tash Aw's The South', Canadian-Ukrainian Maria Reva's Ending', Hungarian-British David Szalay's Flesh' and Albanian-American Ledia Xhoga's Misinterpretation'. Four British authors in the running are: Natasha Brown with Universality', Jonathan Buckley with One Boat', Andrew Miller with The Land in Winter' and Benjamin Wood with Seascraper'. And, the three American authors completing the longlist include Susan Choi with Flashlight', Katie Kitamura with Audition' and Ben Markovits with The Rest of Our Lives'. "The stories are set all over the world, and as we looked through the books we began to notice that their authors, all of them writing in English, had come from many different places too It's the highest number of different nationalities we've seen on a Booker Prize longlist for a decade yet British writers are strongly represented too, said Gaby Wood, Chief Executive of the Booker Prize Foundation. "Oh wow! Kiran Desai's The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is longlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize 19 years after The Inheritance of Loss won. What a staggering return! (Out in September!)" Manasi Subramanian, editor-in-chief and vice-president at Penguin Random House India, which overlooks the Hamish Hamilton imprint, wrote on social media. For the first time, the shortlist of six books will be announced at a public event, to be held at Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall in London on September 23. The winning book for 2025 will be announced on November 10 at a ceremony at Old Billingsgate in London, with the winner receiving GBP 50,000 (approx Rs 58 lakh). The six shortlisted authors will each receive GBP 2,500 (approx Rs 2.90 lakh) and a specially bound edition of their book.
Irish Times
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Booker Prize longlist 2025: ‘alive with great characters and narrative surprises' says chair of judges Roddy Doyle
Kiran Desai, the Indian author who won the Booker Prize in 2006 with The Inheritance of Loss, has been longlisted again with The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, the first novel she has written since and, at 667 pages, the longest book on the list. Should she win, she would become the fifth double winner in the prize's 56-year history. Her mother Anita Desai was also shortlisted for the Booker three times. Nine of this year's 13 authors appear on the prestigious £50,000 prize longlist for the first time, alongside Malaysian author Tash Aw, who is longlisted for a third time, and past shortlistees Andrew Miller and David Szalay. Although there are no Irish-born authors on the longlist, Trinidad-Irish writer Claire Adam, whose mother is from Cork and who has spent many summers there, features with Love Forms. She won the Desmond Elliott Prize, the McKitterick Prize and the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award for her debut, Golden Child . [ Claire Adam on childhood summers in Ireland: 'My grandmother from Skibbereen lived to 108' Opens in new window ] The Booker Prize 2025 longlist Love Forms by Claire Adam The South by Tash Aw Universality by Natasha Brown One Boat by Jonathan Buckley Flashlight by Susan Choi The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai Audition by Katie Kitamura The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller Endling by Maria Reva Flesh by David Szalay Seascraper by Benjamin Wood Misinterpretation by Ledia Xhoga [ Love Forms by Claire Adam: A novel of cumulative force Opens in new window ] Roddy Doyle , chair of this year's judges and a former Booker Prize winner with Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha in 1993, said the novels on this year's list were 'alive with great characters and narrative surprises', which 'examine the past and poke at our shaky present'. He said he and his fellow judges – longlisted novelists Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ and Kiley Reid; actor and publisher Sarah Jessica Parker; and critic Chris Power – had spent seven months reading 153 books before deciding on their selection. 'There were so many contenders, so many excellent books, saying goodbye to some of them felt personal, almost cruel. 'The 13 longlisted novels bring the reader to Hungary, Albania, the north of England, Malaysia, Ukraine, Korea, London, New York, Trinidad and Greece, India and the West Country. (Forgive the list, but I used to teach geography.) There are short novels and some very long ones. There are novels that experiment with form and others that do so less obviously. All, somehow, examine identity, individual or national, and all, I think, are gripping and excellent.' Gaby Wood, chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, praised a longlist that championed global perspectives. 'The stories are set all over the world, and their authors, all of them writing in English, come from many different places too. There was an Indian writer, a Malaysian, a Trinidadian, an Albanian-American, a Hungarian-Briton and a Canadian-Ukrainian ... It's the highest number of different nationalities we've seen on a Booker Prize longlist for a decade – yet British writers are strongly represented too. 'While [the list] includes historical epics, brilliant formal experiments and a compact satire, many of the novels speak to the reader in an unadorned, confiding voice. This intimate effect, so difficult to achieve, was immediately appreciated by the judges, who are as alive to unshowy skills as they are to more virtuosic ones.' The shortlist of six books will be announced on September 23rd and the winner will be revealed on November 10th. What the judges said Love Forms by Claire Adam 'The divorced Trinidadian mother of two adult men is consumed by the loss of her daughter. Beautifully low-pitched, it reads like a hushed conversation overheard in the next room.' The South by Tash Aw 'To call The South a coming-of-age novel nearly misses its expanse. Set in 1990s Malaysia, it's a book about heritage, and the relationship between one family and the land.' Universality by Natasha Brown 'A bold, memorable and entertaining satire, it reveals the contradictions of a society shaped by entrenched systems of economic, political and media control.' One Boat by Jonathan Buckley 'A woman returns to a coastal town in Greece she first visited when her mother died. A novel of quiet brilliance, it raises questions about grief, obsession and human connectivity.' Flashlight by Susan Choi 'Deftly criss-crossing decades and continents – from North Korea to America – this is a riveting exploration of identity, hidden truths, race, and national belonging.' The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai 'Vast and immersive, this novel about a pair of young Indians in America enfolds a magical realist fable within a social novel within a love story. No detail, large or small, escapes Desai's attention.' Audition by Katie Kitamura 'An actress meets a man in a Manhattan restaurant who claims to be her son. This tense scenario established, the narrative makes a radical pivot that left us perplexed and thrilled.' The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits 'Twelve years after his wife's affair, Tom drops his daughter off at college – and keeps driving. A satisfying road trip full of strangers, friends and self-discovery, and a novel of sincerity and precision.' The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller 'In Britain's coldest winter, two women forge a friendship in the countryside. In beautifully atmospheric prose, Miller brings suspense to a seemingly inconsequential chapter in history.' Endling by Maria Reva 'Set in Ukraine as Putin invades, Endling features three women and an endangered snail travelling together in a mobile lab. Structurally wild and playful, it is also heart-rending and angry.' Flesh by David Szalay 'Travelling from Hungary to Iraq to London, and using only the sparest of prose, this hypnotically tense and compelling book becomes an astonishingly moving portrait of a man's life.' Seascraper by Benjamin Wood 'What seems to be a beautifully described account of a working day in an English coastal town becomes a book about dreams, an exploration of class and – stunningly – a love story.' Misinterpretation by Ledia Xhoga 'The story of a translator saddled between her Albanian past and her New York present, it blurs the distinction between help and harm. We found it propulsive and unsettling.'
Nikkei Asia
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Nikkei Asia
Books: Kannada Booker triumph 'to boost Indian regional writing'
Books Prizewinning translator Deepa Bhasthi celebrates international award Translator Deepa Bhasthi, left, and writer Banu Mushtaq pose with their trophies after winning the International Booker Prize for the short story collection "Heart Lamp," on May 20 in London. (© David Parry for the Booker Prize Foundation) MYTHILY RAMACHANDRAN CHENNAI -- Global interest in literature written in Kannada and other Indian regional languages is likely to rise significantly following this year's International Booker Prize win for the English translation of Banu Mushtaq's "Heart Lamp," according to translator Deepa Bhasthi. "Heart Lamp" -- a collection of 12 stories originally published in Kannada between 1990 and 2023 -- was the only work on the shortlist that was not a novel and was not expected to win the award, presented in London on May 20, despite warm notices from critics.
Wales Online
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Women's Prize for Fiction ‘greatest honour' as an intersex woman, says winner
Women's Prize for Fiction 'greatest honour' as an intersex woman, says winner Dutch author Yael van der Wouden won the accolade for her debut novel, The Safekeep (left to right) Yael van der Wouden, Rachel Kushner, Anne Michaels, Queen Camilla, Charlotte Wood, Percival Everett, and Samantha Harvey during a reception for the Booker Prize Foundation at Clarence House, London (Image: Aaron Chown/PA Wire ) The winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction has said the award is "the greatest honour of my life as a woman" as she reflected on her experience growing up intersex. Dutch author Yael van der Wouden won the accolade for her debut novel, The Safekeep, and used her winner's speech to champion the trans community, who have "changed the system" and "fought for health care". The book, which explores repressed desire and the unresolved aftermath of the Holocaust in post-Second World War Netherlands, was described as an "astonishing debut" by the head of the judges. The ceremony, held in central London on Thursday, saw the non-fiction prize awarded to physician Dr Rachel Clarke for The Story Of A Heart, which explores the human experience behind organ donation. In her winner's speech, after thanking the judges, van der Wouden said: "I was a girl until I turned 13, and then, as I hit puberty, all that was supposed to happen did not quite happen. "And if it did happen, it happened too much, and all at once my girlhood became an uncertain fact. Article continues below "I won't thrill you too much with the specifics, but the long and the short of it is that, hormonally, I'm intersex. "This little fact defined my life throughout my teens, until I advocated for the health care that I needed. "The surgery and the hormones that I needed, which not all intersex people need. Not all intersex people feel at odds with their gender presentation. "I mention the fact that I did, because in the few precious moments here on stage, I am receiving, truly, the greatest honour of my life as a woman, presenting to you as a woman, and accepting this Women's Prize. "And that is because of every single trans person who's fought for health care, who changed the system, the law, societal standards, themselves. I stand on their shoulders." The NHS website says intersex, or differences in sex development (DSD), is a group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones and reproductive organs that mean a person's sex development is different to most. In contrast, people who are transgender identify as a gender separate to the sex they were born in and sometimes go through gender-affirming surgery. Van der Wouden's novel follows Isabel, a young woman whose life in solitude is upended when her brother's girlfriend Eva comes to live in their family house in what turns into a summer of obsession, suspicion and desire. The chairwoman of the judges for the fiction prize, writer Kit de Waal, said: "This astonishing debut is a classic in the making, a story to be loved and appreciated for generations to come. Books like this don't come along every day." Van der Wouden will receive £30,000 and a limited-edition bronze statuette known as the Bessie, which was created and donated by artist Grizel Niven. The judging panel for the Women's Prize for Fiction included novelist and journalist Diana Evans, author and journalist Bryony Gordon, writer and magazine editor Deborah Joseph, and musician and composer Amelia Warner. Clarke said she has "literally been a feminist since I was too young to know what that word even meant", as she collected her award. The physician's book recounts two family stories, documenting how medical staff take care of nine-year-old Kiera in her final hours after a car accident, while offering a new life to nine-year-old Max who is suffering from heart failure from a viral infection. Clarke, who is behind the books Breathtaking and Your Life In My Hands: A Junior Doctor's Story, will receive £30,000 and a limited-edition piece of art known as the Charlotte, both gifted by the Charlotte Aitken Trust. The judging panel for the non-fiction prize included writer and broadcaster Dr Leah Broad, whose work focuses on women's cultural history, and novelist and critic Elizabeth Buchan. Article continues below Previous winners of the fiction prize include Tayari Jones for An American Marriage and Madeline Miller for The Song Of Achilles, while the first non-fiction prize was awarded last year to Naomi Klein for Doppelganger: A Trip Into The Mirror World. The awards were announced by the Women's Prize Trust, a UK charity that aims to "create equitable opportunities for women in the world of books and beyond".
