Notes to editors

The influence of the prize extends far beyond the initial months after a win. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, co-winner of the 2019 Booker Prize, was the seventh most popular title borrowed from UK public libraries for the 2020/21 Public Lending Right year. For the 2021/22 period, Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain, winner of the Booker Prize in 2020, was the ninth most borrowed book. More recently, Sort Of, the publisher of 2022 winner The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka, grew 137% as a result of the novel’s success, taking the company to a value of over £1m TCM. 

The rules state that a longlist of 12 or 13 books – the ‘Booker Dozen’ – is to be selected, followed by a shortlist of six from which the winner is chosen. UK and Irish publishers may submit works of long form fiction written in the English language and published in the UK or Ireland between October 1, 2022 and September 30, 2023. The number of works a publisher can submit will depend on that publisher’s inclusion in longlists over the previous five years, as follows:

- Publishers with no longlistings – 1 submission

- Publishers with 1 or 2 longlisting(s) – 2 submissions

- Publishers with 3 or more longlistings – 3 submissions

 This means that the number of submissions for each publisher may change from year to year. A new work by any author who has previously been shortlisted for the Booker Prize (pre-2002 or post-2018) or Man Booker Prize (2002-2018) is automatically eligible.

The judges also ‘call-in’ a number of works each year. In addition to their main submission(s), a publisher may provide a list of up to five titles for consideration, accompanied by a justification from the editor. The judges are required to call-in no fewer than 10 of these titles. The judges are also permitted to call-in other works published within the requisite dates, even if the work has not been submitted through any other route.

There are no fees for publishers to submit books to the prize, nor to be longlisted, shortlisted or win.

The rules of the prize were changed at the end of 2013 to embrace the English language ‘in all its vigour, its vitality, its versatility and its glory’, opening it up to writers beyond the UK and Commonwealth, providing they were writing novels in English and published in the UK. Novels published in Ireland have been eligible since 2018.

The Booker Prizes website, thebookerprizes.com – supported by Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts, as well as a YouTube channel – is a unique online space which showcases the 600+ exceptional books that have won, or been longlisted or shortlisted for the Booker Prize and International Booker Prize. The site aims to be an entertaining and illuminating content destination that combines both practical information about the prizes past and present with fresh and original features to bring the books and their authors to life, encouraging readers new and old to visit and revisit titles in the ‘Booker Library’.

The Director of the Booker Prize Foundation is Gaby Wood. The Administrator of The International Booker Prize is Fiammetta Rocco – senior editor and culture correspondent, The Economist.
 
The Booker Prize Foundation is a registered charity (no 1090049) established in 2002. Its purpose is to promote the art and value of literature for the public benefit and its mission is to inspire people to read the world’s best fiction. It is driven by a simple belief – great fiction not only brings joy to millions, it has the power to change the way we think about the world we live in. It is responsible for awarding the Booker Prize for Fiction and the International Booker Prize. Other aspects of the Foundation’s work include reading initiatives in prisons, writers’ visits to universities, the distribution of books to disadvantaged readers, the funding of Braille and audio editions of Booker Prize books through the RNIB, and awarding the annual UEA Booker Prize Foundation Scholarship.
 
The trustees of the Booker Prize Foundation are: Mark Damazer (chair) – freelance journalist and former broadcast executive; Tony Damer (treasurer) – member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants; Nick Barley – Director, Edinburgh International Book Festival; Carol Lake – President of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation; Ben Okri - poet and author; MT Rainey – strategist, agency founder and social entrepreneur; Professor Dame Louise Richardson – President, Carnegie Corporation of New York; Nicki Sheard – President, Brands & Licensing, BBC Studios; The Rt Hon. Lord David Willetts – writer, ex-minister and advocate of fairness between the generations.

The Booker Prize Foundation Advisory Committee, which advises on any changes to the rules and on the selection of the judges, represents all aspects of the book world. Its members are: Nic Bottomley – co-founder, Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights; Jamie Byng – Publisher, Canongate Books; James Daunt – Managing Director of Waterstones; Jonathan Douglas CBE – Director of the National Literacy Trust; Adam Freudenheim – Publisher, Pushkin Press; Daniel Hahn OBE - writer and translator; Sharmaine Lovegrove – Publisher, Dialogue Books; Emma Paterson – agent, Aitken Alexander Associates; Fiammetta Rocco – senior editor and culture correspondent, The Economist, and The International Booker Prize Administrator; Boyd Tonkin – writer and critic; Helen Williams – Legal Counsel of Booker Group plc. It is chaired by Gaby Wood - Director, Booker Prize Foundation. 
 
Crankstart, a charitable foundation, is the exclusive funder of the Booker Prize and the International Booker Prize.

Premier, the creative communications agency for entertainment, arts and culture handles PR, comms and events management for the prizes and the Booker Prize Foundation.
 
Booker Group is the UK’s leading food & drink wholesaler with branches nationwide and a delivery network. It serves over 400,000 catering customers and 100,000 independent retailers.