Booker Prize is one of the most prestigious literary awards on the globe. Discover the history and achievements of the Prize’s most famous winners, celebrating their groundbreaking works that have left an indelible mark on the world of books.
From Salman Rushdie‘s captivating narratives to Margaret Atwood‘s visionary fiction, each laureate not only exemplifies exceptional literary prowess but also reflects the evolving trends and diverse voices shaping contemporary literature.
Get ready to be spellbound by the brilliance of Booker Prize winners and discover timeless works that continue to resonate with readers around the world.
Famous Winners of The Booker Prize
Here are a few heavyweights who have made their mark on the Booker timeline:
Booker's Firsts
P.H. Newby was the first winner of the prize in 1969 with Something to Answer For. With the prize changing its brand to The Man Booker Prize in 2002, Yann Martel became the first winner with Life of Pi.
Breaking Barriers
In 1970, Bernice Rubens became the first woman to win the Booker Prize for The Elected Member, a book that explored the controversial theories of R. D. Laing, who argued that disturbed people are products of a “disturbing” family.
Celebrated Laureates
Booker Prize winners include V.S. Naipaul, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Iris Murdoch, J.M. Coetzee, Kingsley Amis, Paul Beatty, Penelope Lively, Ben Okri, Julian Barnes, Ian McEwan, Peter Carey, Kiran Desai, and Hilary Mantel.
Double Laureates
J.M. Coetzee (1983 and 1999) and Peter Carey (1988 and 2001) each won twice. Hilary Mantel has the unique distinction of being the first woman, first British author, and first author to win the prize for two novels in the same trilogy (2009 and 2012). Margaret Atwood is a two-time winner too (2000 and 2019).
Pioneers of Indian Heritage
Arundhati Roy’s debut novel The God of Small Things fetched her the Booker in 1997 making her the first Indian to win the most coveted literary award.
V.S. Naipaul is the first person of Indian Origin to win the Booker Prize in 1971 for his novel In a Free State.
Salman Rushdie is the first India Born British Indian to bag the award for his 1981 book Midnight’s Children.
Mother-Daughter Duo
Author Anita Desai is an Indian novelist and the Emerita John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has been nominated for the Booker Prize thrice. Her daughter, Kiran Desai, won the award in 2006 for her work The Inheritance of Loss, becoming the youngest female writer to win the award.
Social Commentary
Aravind Adiga’s White Tiger is a testament to rampant capitalism and corruption. He was the Booker winner for 2008 and his novel has since been adapted into a movie.
Indian Luminaries
So far, 7 Indians have been nominated for the International Booker Prize: Salman Rushdie in 2007, Mahasweta Devi and V.S. Naipaul in 2009, Rohinton Mistry in 2011, U.R. Ananthamurthy in 2013, Amitav Ghosh in 2015 and Geetanjali Shree in 2022.
Geetanjali Shree became the first Indian author to win the International Booker Prize (2022) for her novel, Tomb of Sand, originally written in Hindi.
What is the Booker Prize? All the answers you need to know right here. Read: The Booker Prize: Awards For The “Finest in Fiction“
