"The Man Booker Prize and Contemporary British Fiction"

The aim of the lecture is to introduce the most coveted literary prize in the UK and to assess its influence on the shape of contemporary British fiction. The first part will situate the prize in the context of other literary prizes and outline the Booker’s almost 50-year history. Then the (recently modified) eligibility criteria, the make-up of the jury and the selection process will be briefly presented. After a consideration of the Booker’s commercial potential, some of the major controversies around the prize will be analyzed. The last part of the lecture will make an attempt to establish the extent to which winning the Booker (or being shortlisted) helps a novel be included in the canon of contemporary literature.