Booker Prize
2025 Winner
2025 Shortlist & Longlist
Shortlist
Complete History
2020s
2010s
- 2019The Testaments — Margaret Atwood
- 2018Milkman — Anna Burns
- 2017Lincoln in the Bardo — George Saunders
- 2016The Sellout — Paul Beatty
- 2015A Brief History of Seven Killings — Marlon James
- 2014The Narrow Road to the Deep North — Richard Flanagan
- 2013The Luminaries — Eleanor Catton
- 2012Bring Up the Bodies — Hilary Mantel
- 2011The Sense of an Ending — Julian Barnes
- 2010The Finkler Question — Howard Jacobson
About the Booker Prize
The Booker Prize is widely regarded as the English-speaking world's most prestigious literary award, presented annually since 1969 to the best original novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. Founded with support from the Booker McConnell company and now administered by the Booker Prize Foundation, the prize carries a £50,000 award and has historically transformed the careers and international readerships of its winners.
Originally open only to citizens of the United Kingdom, Commonwealth nations, and the Republic of Ireland, the prize expanded its eligibility rules in 2014 to include any novel written in English and published in Britain or Ireland, regardless of the author's nationality. This controversial change opened the competition to American authors and others previously excluded, leading to wins by writers like Paul Beatty and George Saunders.
The prize process begins with a longlist announced in late July, followed by a shortlist of six books in September, and a winner announced at a gala dinner in London in October. The six shortlisted authors each receive £2,500 and a specially bound edition of their book. The winner is decided by an annually appointed jury of five, typically drawn from literature, academia, and public life. A single book has won twice—Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall (2009) and Bring Up the Bodies (2012), making her the only author to win twice.
The Booker Prize has a companion award, the International Booker Prize (formerly the Man Booker International Prize), which since 2016 has been awarded annually to a single book translated into English from any language. The two prizes together make up the Booker Prizes brand, administered by the Booker Prize Foundation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Since 2014, any novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland is eligible, regardless of the nationality of the author. Prior to 2014, eligibility was restricted to authors from the UK, Commonwealth, and Ireland.
- A new jury of five judges is appointed each year. They read all eligible submissions, then announce a longlist of typically thirteen books in July, a shortlist of six in September, and a single winner at a gala ceremony in London in October.
- The winner receives £50,000. Each of the six shortlisted authors receives £2,500 and a specially bound edition of their book. The announcement is made at a high-profile dinner and is broadcast widely.
- The prize was known as the Man Booker Prize from 2002 to 2019, when Man Group was the primary sponsor. It is now simply called the Booker Prize. It is distinct from the International Booker Prize, which is awarded to fiction in English translation.