The Man Booker Prizer

1969-1989
1990 - Present

In the quest to recognize outstanding literary works of fiction, the Man-Booker Prize continues to be one of the prestigious awards.

Given to the best novel of the year written by a member of the British Commonwealth or Republic of Ireland since 1969, the prize comes with £50,000.

It began when Tom Maschler approached the Booker Brothers-a company that published such authors as Harold Pinter and Agatha Christie-and suggested that they create a literary prize for fiction authors.

The Award is now underwritten by the Man Group, an investment and brokerage company.

The Man-Booker Prize is a judged contest. An advisory committee selects judges from critics, academics, editors, novelists, and a "major figure." New judges are selected every year.

Publishers can submit two titles a year to the judges. Also, any title by a previous winner or shortlist author of the Booker Prize can enter new titles. Publishers may then submit a list of up to five more titles. Judges must consider no fewer than eight and no more than 12 of these titles. Judges then read all the titles under consideration before making determinations.

The judges first release a long list of titles. A month later, they announce the short-list titles. Then, a month later, they announce the winner.

When the award celebrated its 25th anniversary, three past chairmen of judges were called upon to choose the book that they thought was the best of all the winners to date. They chose the "Booker of Bookers": the 1981 award to Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie.

--B. Redman