Nigerian writers Oyinkan Braithwaite, Chigozie Obioma and Bernadine Evaristo are on the 2019 Mna Booker Prize Longlist.
The thirteen novels that made up this year’s longlist were chosen from 151 novels published in the UK or Ireland from October 1st 2018 to 2019. The young Nigerian writers would be in contest with big literary names like; Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, amongst others.
Chigozie Obioma’s highly acclaimed debut novel “The Fisherman” was previously shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize for Literature. His second novel “An Orchestra of Minorities,” makes this year’s longlist.
Shortlisted for the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction, “My Sister, the Serial Killer” Oyinkan Braithwaite’s debut novel makes the 2019 Man Booker Prize Longlist. Award winning author, Bernardine Evaristo, a British-Nigerian, also made the list for her eighth book, “Girl, Woman, Other.”
Chair of the judges, Peter Florence, had this to say of the list, “If you only read one book this year, make a leap. Read all 13 of these. There are Nobel candidates and debutantes on this list. There are no favourites; they are all credible winners. They imagine our world, familiar from news cycle disaster and grievance, with wild humour, deep insight and a keen humanity. These writers offer joy and hope. They celebrate the rich complexity of English as a global language. They are exacting, enlightening and entertaining. Really – read all of them.”
The shortlist of six books will be announced on the 3rd of September, 2019, at a press conference. Each of the shortlisted authors receives £2,500 and a specially bound edition of their book. The winner which will be announced on 14th of October 2019, will be awarded a prize money of £50,000.
