The last day or so I’ve had to smile over the stories in the US publishing trade along the lines of “Unknowns take over Booker shortlist!”
That’s unknowns like Sarah Waters and Kate Grenville, you understand. And that’s one good reason for ensuring the Booker remains an award for “Commonwealth” writers.
Anyway, it’s book judging season all over the place, and there’s an interesting outline of the process, ethics and pitfalls of judging (including conflicts of interests and dubious invitations to dinner) in this conversation between Ramona Koval and Hilary McPhee on Radio National.