Booker Prize 2024 shortlist out; features largest number of women authors in 55-year history

Booker Prize 2024 shortlisted books (Pic: X/@thebookerprizes)

The shortlist for Booker Prize 2024 was announced on Monday, and out of the six books shortlisted, five have been written by women authors. This is the largest ever number of women featured in the shorlist in the 55-year history of the prestigious literary prize.

Five women and one man are in the running for prize, from a longlist of 13 authors. They include writers from Australia, the Netherlands, Britain, Canada and the US. The shortlist also features its first Dutch author.

The six shortlisted books for Booker Prize 2024 are:

Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner (USA)

Orbital by Samantha Harvey (UK)

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (Netherlands)

James by Percival Everett (USA)

Held by Anne Michaels (Canada)

Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood (Australia)

English pottery-maker, author and chair of the judges Edmund de Waal said the shortlist comprised of "books that made us want to keep on reading, to ring up friends and tell them about them, novels that inspired us to write, to score music, and even - in my case - to go back to my wheel and make pots".

About the shortlisted books

Creation Lake: Set in a remote outpost in France, the spy novel follows an American secret agent whose mission is to infiltrate a group of radical eco-activists.

Orbital: The book follows six astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS).

The Safekeep: It is family drama set in the Netherlands 15 years after the end of the second world war.

James: It is a retelling of ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn', written from the perspective of enslaved Jim.

Held: The book is a family saga that explores love and loyalty across four generations.

Stone Yard Devotional: This is the story of a woman who leaves Sydney to return to the place she grew up in, wherein she encounters different challenges and friendships.

The Booker is open to works of fiction by writers of any nationality, written in English and published in the UK or Ireland between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024.

The Booker Prize ceremony will take place on November 12. Each of the shortlisted authors will receive £2,500, and the winner will get £50,000.

Last year's winner was Irish author Paul Lynch and his dystopian novel Prophet Song.

Also Read: Exclusive | I've always been interested in telling unusual stories: Tisca Chopra

(With inputs from AFP)