INSPIRING “BOOKER”

Leaving behind the celebrity writers such as Kevin Berry, Oyinkan Brathwaite, Lucky Elman, Max Porter, Elif Shafak, Jeanette Winterson and their novels, two women have won this year’s prestigious “Booker” award.

The Booker Prize for 2019 was just announced and this year it was jointly awarded to “Margaret Atwood” and “Bernardine Evaristo”. Many will think what’s new in this? Because booker prize announced annually. But this year’s “Booker” had some special features. Margaret and Evaristo were jointly selected for the Award. In the same way, Booker has taken an advance step in honoring Jokha Alharthi, an Arabic novelist for her book “Celestial Bodies”.

Among the two chosen for the joint award, Evaristo is the first black woman and first British author to win the award. Margaret, a two-time booker, is the most senior author who received the award. Margaret was previously honored with this award in 2000 for her book “The Blind Assassin”. This year, Margaret was selected for her novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” and Evaristo for her book “Girl, Women, Other”. Also Jokha Alharthi has become the first Arab-speaking author to receive such an award internationally.

The Book Prize started in 1969, and in 1992, last time the award presented to two author’s jointly. However, after that, the rules of the award changed and the practice of awarding the award to only one started. But this year, the examiners have honored the quality of Margaret and Evaristo’s work setting aside the rules.