Paul Beatty wins the 2016 Man Booker Prize
The 2016 Man Booker Prize was awarded to the American author Paul Beatty for his novel "The Sellout". Beatty, 54, became the first US author to win the award in its 48-year history. "The Sellout" was described by the judges as the "novel of our times". It was Beatty's fourth book. The New York based writer teaches at the Columbia University.
The Man Booker Prize
Man Booker Prize is the "leading literary award in the English speaking world". The prize was established in 1969, "to promote the finest in fiction by rewarding the best novel of the year written in English and published in the UK." The winner receives £50,000 along with £2,500 awarded to each of the six shortlisted authors, and a designer-bound copy of their book.
Judges from various walks of life
The judges of Man Booker Prize are not merely confined to authors, literary critics, and academicians but chosen from a variety of disciplines that include poets, politicians, journalists, actors, etc. - those with a passion for quality fiction.
Indian authors who have won the Man Booker Prize
Three Indian-authors have won the 'Man Booker Prize' - Arundhati Roy for "God of Small Things" (1997), Kiran Desai for "The Inheritance of Loss" (2006), Aravind for "The White Tiger" (2008). Indian-origin authors who have won the prize are, V.S.Naipaul for "In a Free State" (1971), Salman Rushdie for "Midnight's Children" (1981). Rushdie also won "Booker of Bookers" and "The Best of the Booker".
Shortlisted authors for 2016 Man Booker Prize
2016 Man Booker Prize longlist had 13 authors including the 2-time prize winner JM Coetzee. The shortlist comprised of - Paul Beatty (US) for "The Sellout", Deborah Levy (UK) for "Hot Milk", Graeme Macrae Burnet (UK) for "His Bloody Project", Ottessa Moshfegh (US) for "Eileen", David Szalay (Canada-UK) for "All That Man Is" and Madeleine Thien (Canada) for "Do Not Say We Have Nothing".
What is the Sellout about?
The Sellout is a racial satire which follows the life of Bonbon, a young African-American man from suburban Los Angeles. Bonbon goes on trial in Supreme Court for attempting to "reinstate slavery and segregation" in the local high school as a means to bring about civic order. The book "takes aim at racial and political taboos with wit, verve and a snarl".
