For the fifth time in three years, the Booker Prizes have partnered with Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford’s production company Merman Television on a series of short films featuring well-known performers reading extracts from the shortlisted books. Their release has become one of the most highly anticipated moments in the Booker Prizes’ calendar, with some of the UK’s leading acting and filmmaking talent keen to take part. The previous set of films, published in April, were viewed over 32 million times across the Booker Prizes’ social media channels.  

The new films, which showcase the 2024 shortlist for the Booker Prize, the world’s most influential award for a single work of fiction, are directed by writer, director and producer Sebastian Thiel, one of UK television’s fastest-rising stars. His directing credits include the International Emmy-nominated BBC Three comedy Dreaming Whilst Black, and the recent Netflix series Supacell.   

The performers featured are: Adelayo Adedayo (The Responder, Some Girls), Nonso Anozie (Sweet Tooth, Game of Thrones), Chipo Chung (Silo, His Dark Materials), Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter, The Death of Stalin), Will Poulter (Dopesick, Midsommar) and Tanya Reynolds (Sex Education, The Decameron). 

The films will premiere at a Booker Prize shortlist event at the Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival at 10.30am on Saturday, 12 October, and will be published on the Booker Prizes website (thebookerprizes.com) and social channels (@thebookerprizes) the same day. They will also be shown at the Booker Prize 2024 ceremony, which will be held at Old Billingsgate, London, on Tuesday, 12 November. 

The trailer for the films can be watched here. 

Gaby Wood, Chief Executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, says: 

‘Over the past three years the films we make with Merman have become not only one of the highlights of the Booker year, but works of art in their own right: a project that world-class actors and filmmakers want to be a part of. 

‘We couldn’t be more grateful to everyone involved for the impact they have in inspiring more people to read some of the century’s greatest books. 

‘Watching extraordinary actors bring fragments of the Booker shortlisted books to life is a huge thrill, and seeing the love the films get from the public once they’re out in the world proves how vivid these stories can be for everyone. We receive countless comments from people saying they want to buy and read the whole book as a result. 

‘This time round the six films have been conjured by the artistry of Sebastian Thiel and his talented crew, including Director of Photography Evelin van Rei. Along with the brilliant producers and casting director at Merman, a true dream team!  

‘We hope you enjoy these films as much as we have.’ 

Sebastian Thiel, Director of the films, adds: 

‘It was a privilege to direct Booker’s latest videos and be part of a project that celebrates such great literature. Working with these remarkable texts and talented actors in an intimate setting inspired me creatively, allowing me to focus on simple yet meaningful visuals. It’s been a truly rewarding experience, bringing these powerful stories to life.’ 

More about the shortlist 

The £50,000 Booker Prize is awarded annually to the best sustained work of fiction written in English by authors from anywhere in the world and published in the UK and/or Ireland.    

The 2024 shortlist features five women for the first time, and authors representing five countries, including the first Dutch writer to be shortlisted and the first Australian in a decade. It features stories which transport readers around the world and beyond the Earth’s atmosphere: from the battlefields of the First World War to a spiritual retreat in rural Australia; from America’s Deep South in the 19th century to a remote Dutch house in the 1960s; from the International Space Station to a cave network beneath the French countryside.  

The six books – and the performers reading extracts from them in the films – are as follows:  

James by Percival Everett – read by Nonso Anozie  
Orbital by Samantha Harvey – read by Will Poulter   
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner – read by Adelayo Adedayo   
Held by Anne Michaels – read by Jason Isaacs  
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden – read by Tanya Reynolds   
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood – read by Chipo Chung    

The winner will be announced on Tuesday, 12 November 2024. The announcement will be broadcast live in a special edition of BBC Radio 4’s Front Row at 9.30pm, and livestreamed on the Booker Prizes’ social channels. 

More about the films 

The Booker Prizes have worked with Merman on its shortlist films since 2022. The previous sets of films were directed by Charlotte Hamblin, Hannah Berry George and Kevin Thomas, and featured performances from Dua Lipa, Eleanor Tomlinson, David Jonsson, Tobias Menzies, Anya Chalotra, Antonia Thomas, Anna Friel, Jarvis Cocker, David Harewood, Nikki Amuka Bird, Prasanna Puwanarajah, Sharon Horgan, Adjoa Andoh, Aisling Bea, Jessica Brown Findlay, Toby Stephens, Michelle de Swarte, Osy Ikhile, Caitríona Balfe, Alfred Enoch, Bel Powley, Paterson Joseph, Susan Lynch and Nina Wadia.  

The most recent set of films, produced for the International Booker Prize 2024 and directed by Charlotte Hamblin, was viewed over 32 million times across the Booker Prizes’ Instagram and TikTok accounts. The films produced for the Booker Prize 2022, directed by Kevin Thomas, won in the Culture category of The Drum Awards for Marketing EMEA 2023.  

The director of photography for the new films is Evelin van Rei, a Dutch autistic artist working in photography and cinematography. Evelin is a full member of BAFTA and the Netherlands Society of Cinematographers, and received the Angénieux Special Encouragement Award at Cannes Film Festival in 2022. The executive producer is Joshua Buckingham. 

More about Sebastian Thiel

Sebastian Thiel is a writer, director, and producer. Born in Zambia and raised in North West London, Sebastian is one of the UK’s hottest rising stars behind the camera, having directed dramas for BBC, ITV, Amazon Prime and Netflix. 

Sebastian started his own production company, Upshot Entertainment, at the age of 17 with an ambition to create content fronted and made by black talent. He made his TV debut in 2014 on London Live with his documentary Trap Town, and has since built an online following amassing over 13 million views for his self-produced work on his YouTube channel. 

Created, written and directed by Sebastian, his first drama Just A Couple, about a couple in a distinctly modern relationship, started life as a YouTube series before being picked up by Big Talk Productions for BBC Three. He went on to direct the International Emmy-nominated BBC Three comedy Dreaming Whilst Black, and the recent ITVX and Amazon Prime drama Riches. Most recently, he directed the new Netflix series Supacell, a superhero drama created by Rapman and set in London. 

Sebastian continues to produce content through Upshot Entertainment, and is also the founder of Dope Black Art, which is dedicated to championing black culture through visual art. 

He has featured on TEDx Talks, was listed in the Evening Standard’s Top 25 Under 25 most influential Londoners and was included on the BBC’s 2017 Hotlist for New Talent – unveiled by Idris Elba and Tony Hall. Most recently, he was recognised by Broadcast magazine on their 2022 ‘Hot Shots’ list, which recognises rising talent in the television industry. 

Adelayo Adedayo reads from Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner 

Adelayo Adedayo has most recently been seen in the 2024 Netflix superhero series Supacell, directed by Rapman and Sebastian Thiel. In 2023 she was nominated for a BAFTA Television Award in the Supporting Actress category for her role as rookie police officer Rachel Hargreaves in the BBC One crime drama The Responder, alongside Martin Freeman.  

Her other television credits include the BBC Three comedy series Some Girls, the ITV2 science-fiction comedy Timewasters, the YouTube Premium science-fiction drama Origin and the BBC One series The Capture. She also appeared in the feature film Sket, alongside Ashley Walters. 

Nonso Anozie reads from James by Percival Everett 

Nonso Anozie played the lead role in three series of the Netflix series Sweet Tooth, for which he won a Children’s and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Performance in 2022. His other television credits include: a series regular role on CBS’s Zoo; a recurring role in season two of Game of Thrones; the miniseries Tut, opposite Sir Ben Kingsley; he also played RM Renfield in NBC’s Dracula.  

He co-starred in the Disney feature film adaptation of Artemis Fowl directed by Kenneth Branagh, and co-starred in Steven Soderbergh’s The Laundromat for Netflix opposite Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, and Antonio Banderas. Other film credits include: 7 Days in Entebbe opposite Rosamund Pike, Cinderella, directed by Kenneth Branagh, Joe Wright’s Pan and Atonement, Mike Leigh’s Happy Go Lucky, and Conan the Barbarian. He has just completed filming The Magic Faraway Tree, co-starring with Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy. 

Upon graduating from the Central School of Speech and Drama in London in 2002 he became the youngest person in history to play King Lear for the Royal Shakespeare Company. He also won worldwide acclaim – and an Ian Charleson Award – for his performance in the title role of Cheek by Jowl’s Othello. 

Chipo Chung reads from Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood 

Chipo Chung was recently seen starring as the lead in Hulu and Disney+ series Black Cake, and as series regular Michaela in Apple TV sci-fi thriller Constellations. Chipo will soon be seen returning to the second series of Apple TV series Silo. 

Other screen work includes HBO/BBC’s adaptation of His Dark Materials, Into the Badlands for AMC, Thirteen for BBC, and AD: The Bible Continues for NBC. 

Chipo has read a number of audiobooks for Audible, including the 2022 Booker Prize-shortlisted Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo, Nervous Conditions by the 2020 Booker Prize-shortlisted Tsitsi Dangarembga and The Book of Memory by International Booker Prize 2022 judge Petina Gappah. 

Jason Isaacs reads from Held by Anne Michaels 

A multi-award-winning British actor, Jason Isaacs’ extensive film credits include the Harry Potter series, playing Lucius Malfoy; Armando lanucci’s The Death of Stalin; Fran Kranz’s Mass; war films The Patriot; Black Hawk Down; Fury; Green Zone and Operation Mincemeat, horror films A Cure for Wellness; Event Horizon and Look Away; action-adventure films Armageddon; Abduction; Skyfire and The Tuxedo; and classic children’s films Peter Pan and Dragonheart. 

He will soon be seen in Words of War, the story of the crusading journalist Anna Politskavaya who chronicled Putin’s war against the Chechens and paid with her life; The Salt Path with Gillian Anderson, a film based on Raynor Winn’s best-selling book of the same name; and Verona’s Romeo and Juliet, a pop musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic play. 

On television, he was most recently seen starring as Cary Grant in Jeff Pope’s four-part drama Archie (ITV); The Crowded Room (Apple TV+); in the cult hits The OA and Sex Education (Netflix); and as Captain Lorca in Star Trek: Discovery (CBS All Access). He has recently completed filming the third season of HBO’s The White Lotus. 

Will Poulter reads from Orbital by Samantha Harvey 

Will Poulter has established himself as one of the best young actors of his generation through his work with many of the industry’s leading filmmakers. His film credits include Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Oscar-winning The Revenant, James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, Ari Aster’s acclaimed Midsommar for A24, David Michod’s War Machine, a lead role in Fox’s Maze Runner franchise and his breakthrough performance in the Warner Bros film We’re the Millers. His earlier work includes The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Son of Rambow, for which he received a nomination at the British Independent Film Awards for ‘Most Promising Newcomer’. 

He will soon be seen in the screen adaptation of On Swift Horses, based on Shannon Pufhal’s novel of the same name. Last year, he was Emmy-nominated for his role in the Hulu TV series Dopesick. His other TV credits include a lead role in Charlie Brooker’s Emmy-nominated Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, Barry Jenkins’ limited series The Underground Railroad, Hugh Laurie’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? and a recurring role in FX’s The Bear, for which he was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. In 2014, he won the prestigious BAFTA EE Rising Star Award. 

Tanya Reynolds reads from The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden 

Tanya Reynolds can currently be seen in Netflix’s mediaeval comedy drama The Decameron. Her first major role came in 2016, when she was a series regular in the Sky comedy drama Delicious, alongside Dawn French and Iain Glen. From 2019 to 2023 she starred as Lily Iglehart in the first three seasons of the comedy drama Sex Education on Netflix. Her other television credits include the Starz historical drama series Outlander (2017), Sky Atlantic’s horror comedy The Baby (2022) and Robert Popper’s Channel 4 comedy I Hate You (2022). Her film credits include Autumn de Wilde’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma (2020) and Alice Lowe’s Timestalker (2024). In 2020 Tanya appeared on Screen International’s annual Stars of Tomorrow list, alongside Emma Corrin, Ncuti Gatwa and Paul Mescal. In 2024 she was nominated for an Olivier Award in the Best Actress in a Supporting Role category for her performance in Sam Holcroft’s A Mirror at London’s Trafalgar Theatre. 

About Merman Television 

Merman is a globally-renowned production and entertainment company working across the UK and US, with a reputation for scripting and producing award winning TV and film such as Bad Sisters (Apple TV+), Motherland (BBC One), There She Goes (BBC Two), Dreamland (Sky), This Way Up (Hulu/Channel 4) and feature film Herself. Founded in 2014 by award-winning duo Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford, Merman has won multiple accolades under their leadership, including numerous BAFTAs and multiple Emmy and RTS nominations, alongside Production Company of The Year at the Edinburgh TV Awards 2022. In addition to prestigious work across TV and Film, Merman continue to develop expertise across digital media, most recently producing audio drama People Who Knew Me starring Rosamund Pike and Hugh Laurie for BBC Sounds. 

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