Competition
We asked you to help us name the recently revived Booker Prize trophy. From ancient muses to literary icons, you provided hundreds of suggestions. Now, our judges have selected a final six - and it’s time to choose a winner
The vote for this poll has now closed and the winner will be announced soon, but not by February 27 as previously stated.
Earlier this year, we launched a competition inviting you to help us name the Booker Prize trophy. The distinctive statuette was designed by the much-loved children’s book illustrator Jan Pieńkowski for the first Booker Prize ceremony in 1969, but it had fallen out of use in the 1970s. Following Pieńkowski’s death last year, we revived the trophy in his honour for the 2022 ceremony, and it will be presented to future winners of our prizes.
But we feel the trophy is missing something: a name. And so, we asked for your suggestions. Almost 800 of you responded, with names including Greek, Roman and Egyptian goddesses, ancient muses, literary characters and - of course - plenty of Booker-nominated authors, past and present.
Entries closed on January 27, since when our judges - 2022 Booker winner Shehan Karunatilaka; publisher and critic Margaret Busby; Gabriel Schenk, grandson of P.H. Newby, winner of the first Booker Prize; David Walser, partner of the late Jan Pieńkowski; and the Director of the Booker Prize Foundation, Gaby Wood - have sifted through the nominations to select a shortlist. They have now chosen six names.
This poll has now closed, thank you to everyone who voted. The winner will be announced soon, but not by Monday February 27 as previously stated.
Beryl - after the late Beryl Bainbridge, a Booker Prize legend, who was shortlisted for the award five times, though never won.
Iris - after 1978 Booker winner Iris Murdoch, who was nominated for the prize seven times. Iris was also the Greek messenger of the gods.
Minerva - after the Roman goddess of poetry, wisdom and the arts.
Calliope - after the Greek muse who presided over eloquence and poetry.
Bernie - after Bernice Rubens, the first woman to win the Booker (1970) and Bernardine Evaristo, the first Black woman to win the prize (2019).
Janina - primarily a Polish name meaning ‘God is gracious’, and the female form of Jan, after Jan Pienkowski, the Polish-born designer of the trophy.
The name that receives the most votes via our form will be the overall winner. Voting closed on Monday February 20.
The person who originally suggested the name that wins the public vote will receive a Montegrappa Zero fountain pen with a 14k solid gold, gold-plated nib (retailing at £640) and a Folio Society edition of Wolf Hall by the late Hilary Mantel (retailing at £85). If more than one person suggested the name that wins the public vote, we will select the winner at random from those entrants.
The rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell is brilliantly portrayed in Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize-winning Wolf Hall. So eminent a novel requires the finest treatment reminiscent of the pomp and riches of the era, and this startling Folio Society edition will be treasured for a lifetime.
Award-winning artistic duo Igor & Marina have created 11 full-page pencil drawings of exceptionally fine detail, as well as a remarkable colour frontispiece. The artists also painted a captivating portrait of Cromwell, hidden gracefully in the ornate binding design, while a ribbon marker, family trees and sumptuous gold page-edges complete this spectacular collector’s edition.
This product currently retails at £85. Find out more at www.foliosociety.com/wolfhall
Inspired by Italian writing culture, the Montegrappa Zero fountain pen is the next chapter in the evolution of modern writing style. Fitted with a converter/cartridge-fed 14k solid gold, gold-plated nib, it combines sartorial presence, precision engineering and uncompromising strength.
This product currently retails at £640. Find out more at montegrappa.co.uk
This is a competition, with only one entry allowed per person, and we reserve the right to disqualify any entries where we suspect one person has used a number of different email addresses. Use or attempted use of any automated or other non-manual entry methods is prohibited. While it is governed by our general rules for competitions, available here, the following specifics also apply (and take precedence should there be any contradiction or ambiguity):
The competition process (call for entries, explanation of how entries will be selected for consideration of the judges, identity of the judges, their task to select at their absolute discretion six entries to be put forward for public vote, and the timetable for the process) are set out in the competition details above.
The winner will receive a Montegrappa Zero pen and a Folio Society edition of Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize winning novel, Wolf Hall, but we do reserve the right at our sole discretion to make changes/substitutions to what the prize comprises if circumstances so require.
The competition is open to those resident in and outside the UK, subject to the proviso that an entry is not eligible if it is from a resident in a country or jurisdiction where this competition may breach any local law or regulation.
The winner will be notified by email no later than 72 hours after the public vote closes on Friday 20 February 2023 (not 17 February as previously advised), but any changes will be posted on this page on our website (www.thebookerprizes.com/trophycompetition). The winner must promptly provide a fully operative postal address for delivery of their prize.
If we have not received a fully operative postal address from the winner within 48 hours of us notifying the winner, we will have no obligation to deliver the prize. It will then be at our sole discretion to decide whether to give the prize to an alternative winner based on the outcome of the public vote or simply not to award the prize
We are planning to publicise the name of the winner, their location (in general terms, not specific address) on our website and social media channels, with a photo of the winner with their prize, shortly after the public ballot has closed and by entering the competition an entrant agrees to this publicity should they win, and also to the suppliers of the prize using the photograph (or separate photographs for each component of the prize – eg pen and book separately) for publicity purposes.
We can only undertake to do what is reasonable in all the circumstances to deliver a prize to a location outside the UK.
Bearing in mind, among other things, the value of the prize itself in relation to cost of delivery, we reserve the right (and this is determined at our sole discretion) to ask the winner to provide an alternative address for delivery to a person/location where the cost is proportionate.
The winner is responsible for any taxes or duties they may have to pay in order to take receipt of their prize.
We are not responsible for any damage to the prize in the course of delivery; while we will consider a request for a replacement (if available) if the prize arrives in a seriously damaged state, this is solely in our discretion depending on the particular circumstances.
These terms and conditions are be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of England & Wales, and the courts of England & Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to determining any question or issue in relation to them.