A young New Zealander won the 2013 Man Booker prize for fiction. She is Eleanor Catton, aged 28, from Christchurch but now teaching Creative Writing at Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) in Auckland.
Her winning book is called The Luminaries. It was published by Victoria University Press in Wellington. The story is about a possible murder, set in Hokitika on the West Coast in the 1860s during the gold rush. It is a long book, 828 pages, heavy to hold but interesting to read. Whenever anyone complained that the book was too long, she said, “Is it only the classics like Dickens’ or Tolstoys’ books which are allowed to be long?”
The Man Booker prize is the number one prize for fiction in Commonwealth countries. The name comes from two companies which sponsor it. The competition began in 1969. From next year, any book written in English and published in the UK can be included. The prize is £50,000 which is close to NZ$100,000. In addition to prize money, she will sell many more books.
151 novels were sent to the judges to be read. The judges chose a long list of 13 books, then a short list of 6 books, then today (last night in London) the winner was announced. The Duchess of Cornwall presented the prize.
Eleanor Catton is the youngest person to win the Man Booker prize. She is the second New Zealander to win it. Keri Hulme won in 1984 with The Bone People. Lloyd Jones’ book Mister Pip was on the short list in 2007 and has now been made into a movie.
Vocabulary
- creative writing – writing from the imagination including poetry
- luminaries – sun, moon and planets. She uses astrology to provide structure to the book. It also means wise people who influence you.
- gold rush – Gold was found in Central Otago in 1861 then on the West Coast in 1865. There was a rush of men, including men from China, to find gold in these areas.
- sponsor – provide money
She has already sold the TV rights to her book and hopes it will make a TV series. It is certainly long enough for a series.