ŷ������

This thread is overdue. There is a Listopia list here:

/list/show/2...

The new novel of the most recent English language novelist Nobel Laureate (and their first post win) has to be a strong contender surely - Theft by Gurnah

Not entirely to my tastes and some odd cultural appropriation but the almost certainly last novel by one of the most celebrated of English writers and a previous winner has to be another contender - Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst

My choice would be - Universality by Natasha Brown - so very different in style to her debut but very well done and picking up the same themes

There’s also Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche

But they will surprise us all by ignoring the heavyweights and picking lots of debuts and second novels, which makes me happy.

I didn't think the Gurnah was up there with his best, so I don't think it will make the long list.

The Adiche suggestion is interesting and I agree that it has a better chance with the Booker than the Women's Prize.

Re Gurnah - Ishiguro wrote a children’s book post his Nobel and was still Booker Longlisted.

Niall Williams: Time of the Child might be a contender, too.

Does that have a UK publisher? It looks self published.

Rachel wrote: "Does that have a UK publisher? It looks self published."

Thank you for pointing that out, Rachel. It does appear to be self-published. I will delete it as it seems to be ineligible.

It was quite good, though.

Again, thank you.

I have no idea who might make the list next year, but I'm hoping to get some good book recommendations here.

I have updated the intro to add the link to Doug's Listopia list (which I found using Google - the GR list search is worse than useless!)

The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller is one I'll read as soon as I can. I like Miller's writing.

I visited the Booker Library tonight - very impressive and well set out. They have currently Irish and the blind shortlisted books there also. Not really sure how to post pictures here easily but it’s on my gygoldenreviewer instagram.

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "I visited the Booker Library tonight - very impressive and well set out. They have currently Irish and the blind shortlisted books there also. Not really sure how to post pictures here easily but i..."

Wonderful photos, GY. Thank you for sharing.

Judges have been picked and will be announced fairly shortly - maybe next 2 weeks.

Juice is a contender

Just wondering... is Hugh going to create a 2025 Booker eligible list? I'm thinking: The Artist by Lucy Steeds, Dream Count by Adichie and what about the new Murakami?

Jo wrote: "Just wondering... is Hugh going to create a 2025 Booker eligible list? I'm thinking: The Artist by Lucy Steeds, Dream Count by Adichie and what about the new Murakami?"

Doug does one every year. The link is in the first post.

Murakami is not eligible of course.

Just found this thread and the list. So many titles to look forward to!

I am waiting for the judge announcement. At least based on what the Booker Prize team told me it should be next week or so.

In terms of books as of now I don’t see a book which screams like it HAS to make the longlist ��.. but I think that may start becoming clearer as we get 2025 year ahead previews.

Haven't found any more info yet but Gwendoline Riley's new novel The Palm House should be published in 2025. I have very high hopes for that one. I thought that My Phantoms was as close to a perfect novel as they come.

Although one with limited prize recognition (I think a Folio Prize shortlisting) compared to her debut which felt like it was shortlisted for everything but the Booker.

Paula wrote: "Haven't found any more info yet but Gwendoline Riley's new novel The Palm House should be published in 2025. I have very high hopes for that one. I thought that My Phantoms was as close to a perfec..."

The bookseller announced the novel in 2022

x
You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
Riley moves to Picador in six-way auction for ‘finest novel yet��
Rights
Oct 14, 2022
by Mark Chandler
Linked In
Twitter
Facebook
Gwendoline Riley
Gwendoline Riley
Gwendoline Riley is moving to Picador and reuniting with former editor Anne Meadows following a six-way auction for The Palm House, which “promises to be her finest novel yet��.
Editorial director Meadows, who edited Riley’s last two books while at Granta, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada and including audio, to two books from Zoe Waldie at RCW. The Palm House will be published in the spring of 2025.
The Palm House is the story of Edmund Putnam, whose professional and romantic life is about to change. The magazine to which he has dedicated decades is about to close. Over an unsettled weekend he reflects on his position in life.
Riley is the author of books including My Phantoms (Granta), which was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize and longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize, and First Love (Granta), which was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, Goldsmiths Prize, Dylan Thomas Prize, Gordon Burn Prize and won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize for fiction. In 2018, the Times Literary Supplement named her as one of the 20 best British and Irish novelists working today.
“Every page of The Palm House sings with Gwendoline’s precise, unmistakable and elegant prose,�� said Meadows, who joined Picador from Granta earlier this year. “It promises to be her finest novel yet, and I know the many fans who loved First Love and My Phantoms will be waiting as eagerly as we are for publication. She’s truly one of the greatest novelists of her generation, and we are tremendously proud at Picador to be her new home. And I am so, so happy to be working with her again, and excited for everything to come.��
Riley added: “I am delighted that The Palm House has found a home at Picador, an imprint that has published so many novelists I admire. I’m very happy, too, to be working again with Anne, the excellent editor of my last two novels and I hope of many more to come.��

Yes, The Bookseller was where I first found out about it. The same goes for the new novel by Maaza Mengiste, also planned for 2025 if nothing has changed.

There is also a new novel by Ian McEwan, planned for September 2025

The fantastic new novel by the author of Atonement
and Lessons.
What We Can Know is Ian McEwan’s superbly original and
profound new novel which opens in the 22nd Century and
concerns the nature of love, and the questions of
biographical and emotional truth woven around a search
for a long lost masterpiece. It is a brilliantly imaginative and
unforgettably dazzling tour de force.

I think McEwan has written 6 novels since last longlisted?

From Facebook

# Psssst... **we'll be announcing the Booker Prize 2025 judging panel at 12pm GMT on Tuesday 10 December**. You heard it here first!

Who would you have on your dream Booker judging panel?

Just seen an email naming the panel:
"The panel for next year's Booker Prize will be chaired by Roddy Doyle, who is joined by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Sarah Jessica Parker, Chris Power and Kiley Reid"

SJP's best books of 2023 (not 2024):

The actor posted her selections on Instagram, praising “the extraordinary writers who authored the blissfully transportive and forever remembered books I have had the pleasure of holding, reading and sharing this past year.��

Parker’s list includes two books published by SJP Lit, her Zando Projects imprint: the novels A Quitter’s Paradise by Elysha Chang and Coleman Hill by Kim Coleman Foote.

Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting, a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and the Booker Prize, made Parker’s list, along with Lauren Grodstein’s We Must Not Think of Ourselves, Claire Keegan’s So Late in the Day, Michael Magee’s Close to Home, Janika Oza’s A History of Burning, and Zadie Smith’s The Fraud.

The list included three backlist titles: Rona Jaffe’s The Best of Everything, Natalia Ginzburg’s The Road to the City, and Erik Larson’s The Splendid and the Vile.

She also recommended two forthcoming books: Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr! and Tommy Orange’s Wandering Stars.

“As always, I’m incapable of picking a favorite, nor would I, even if I was so inclined,�� Parker wrote. “I could not compare, nor should they compete. They are all glorious, radically and wonderfully different from one another, and simply share one ingredient—supremely gifted authors. Some are important new voices, some voices you might already know and love as I do.��

That looks like a great judging panel! I'm personally excited to see SJP, her taste in books seems pretty close to mine.

Paula wrote: "That looks like a great judging panel! I'm personally excited to see SJP, her taste in books seems pretty close to mine."

I like her a lot. I like the books from her Zando imprint. That's nice. She seems very intelligent, well-spoken, and down-to-earth. I think she'll be a fair and sensitive judge who will add much to the discussions.

It does feel like a strong panel - given SJP is the only non author and is clearly a big fiction reader.

Too many of recent panels have had judges that normally do not read much (in some cases any) contemporary fiction

Chris Power for around a dozen years wrote a column on short stories for the Guardian - I wonder if he will be open to some linked/coherent whole short story collections as being eligible.

Woke up to the news of the judging panel. Hard not to feel that it's a very strong one. Apparently it's the first time a Booker winner has chaired the judging panel. Seems overdue!

Dec. 10, 2024, 4:13 a.m.What to Read

10 Best Books of 2024
100 Notable Books of 2024
Find Your Next Book
21st Century’s Best Books
December Releases
Sarah Jessica Parker Lands Her Dream Gig: Booker Prize Judge
The actress and publisher will help decide the 2025 winner of the prestigious British book award. It is “the thrill of a life,�� she said.

Share full article


A woman lounges on a chaise with a blanket over her knees and a book in hand.
Sarah Jessica Parker, a publisher and an avid reader, always tries to work books into her shows, she said. Here, in “And Just Like That,�� she’s shown reading “Who They Was,�� by Gabriel Krauze.Credit...Craig Blankenhorn/Max
Alex Marshall
By Alex Marshall
Alex Marshall has spoken with many Booker judges. Until today, the most famous had been Lee Child, the thriller writer

Dec. 10, 2024, 4:13 a.m. ET
On New Year’s Eve 2022, Sarah Jessica Parker was scrolling on Instagram when she saw a video by the Booker Prize, the prestigious British literary award, in which three judges talked about the craziness of reading 170 novels in seven months to pick that year’s nominees.

She quickly posted a comment: “Oh let me try!!!!��

Now, Parker’s getting a chance to do just that. On Tuesday, the Booker Prize Foundation, the award’s organizer, announced that Parker, a publisher as well as a Golden Globe-winning actor, will sit on the 2025 judging panel, alongside the authors Ayòbámi Adébáyò, Kiley Reid and Chris Power.

Roddy Doyle, the Irish novelist and screenwriter whose novel “Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha�� won the 1993 Booker, will chair the jury.

Parker said that having the opportunity to judge “the greatest literary award�� was “the thrill of a life,�� although she feared she wasn’t worthy of the role. Booker Prize judges are often academics, she said, and she hasn’t attended college.

The Booker Prize often includes judges with surprising backgrounds. In 2021, Rowan Williams, a former archbishop of Canterbury and one of the most recognizable religious figures in Britain, helped give that year’s award to Damon Galgut’s “The Promise.�� But global acting stars like Parker have previously been absent, rarely having the time to sit on awards panels, even if they had the inclination.

Image
Credit...Booker Prize
Parker said she had a break in filming commitments, so was “thus far, feeling pretty optimistic about being able to do it.��

Gaby Wood, the chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, said in a telephone interview that Parker was a perfect choice, being not only a “worldly, inquisitive, passionate reader,�� but also a publisher of vibrant literary fiction through her SJP Lit imprint.

In a telephone interview, Parker discussed her new role and what she felt made a good Booker winner. The conversation was edited for clarity and concision.

This all began with your Instagram plea. What actually made you post it?

Well, I certainly wasn’t saying it with any hope or thought that it was going to be considered a serious offer. I would never be so bold, nor do I think I’m equipped. I just thought the idea of reading all of these books that would be in serious or thoughtful contention would be the thrill of a life.

Why do you say you’re unqualified? You’re a publisher of Booker-style fiction.

I think of judges as academics, learned, experienced in ways I’m just not. I didn’t pursue higher education. I don’t have any degrees. I separate my devotion to reading from those who can talk about it, criticize it, make judgments, have feelings that are worthy of public discourse. All those ideas seem anathema to my relationship to books. Even when I went into publishing, I felt very nervous about people taking me seriously. I felt like an interloper, and that I was constantly in a position of having to prove myself.

So to be a judge on the Booker, which is the greatest literary award bestowed �� it felt very daunting.

How will you get over that feeling?

I’m just going to listen a lot. That’s the way I’ve probably created a career outside of acting: just being surrounded by people who are expert and listening, listening, listening.

And I’m assuming that all of the judges are going to be kind and excited, and also feel the weight of these conversations. We’re talking about people’s work. I want to be really thoughtful.

As you have so much respect for authors, are you ready to argue with your fellow judges?

I’ll learn soon enough if I can feel the confidence, and summon a more bold personality. But my assumption is that we’re going to talk about books we love because they touched us, they made us feel things. The conversations are not going to be indictable; it’s whether they’re persuasive.

What will you be looking for in the winner?

It’s what I like in publishing �� it’s the unfamiliar, being in a place far away, a place foreign to me, a voice that is unfamiliar in a country that I’ve yet to visit, a continent where I’m not at all well-traveled.

Is there a recent Booker winner or nominee that struck that chord with you?

Oh my gosh, I should have been prepared for this question! There are so many ��

I thought you’d go for Roddy Doyle’s “Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha�� since he’s your chair.

Oh, forgive me, forgive me, forgive me, “Paddy Clarke.��

I was looking at what Booker novels you’ve posted about on Instagram, or that made fleeting appearances in your TV shows, and there are many. I was especially pleased to see Gabriel Krauze’s “Who They Was,�� about London gang life, in an episode of “And Just Like That.��

Oh my gosh, we worked so hard on the books. I try to reach out, in the first days of prep, to publishers across the globe and say, “Are you willing to share titles with us that you’re excited about?�� Because if there’s anything I can do, even quietly, to talk about books, we do it. But, yes, that one was great.

How will you be able to read so many novels given work commitments?

I really thought about this. It’s good timing because I’m not on a set, but I will carve out every moment I can.

My mother is the reason that me and my siblings are all readers. When I was little she would drive car pool, and she always had a book open on her lap underneath the steering wheel, and at the red light, she would look down and read and wait for the car behind her to honk to tell her to go again. So that was how I grew up. Any opportunity to read, even if it’s for two minutes, I’ll take it.

Given you got this through a comment on Instagram, is there anyone else’s account you’ll be visiting soon to fulfill another dream?

No, this is it. This is the golden ticket. In the eyes of my mother, there is nothing else to achieve.

The above article is from NYT

Looking forward to this, nice to see how the Booker attracts some star power to bring more people to reading literary fiction!
I presume it is only a matter of time when Dua Lipa takes on a more formal role, as she has been involved with the prize in the past.

Agree with all of that

This panel will probably move the Booker further from my personal reading tastes, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing if the goal is to drive engagement and fulfill its mission. I might also be pleasantly surprised.

David wrote: "This panel will probably move the Booker further from my personal reading tastes, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing if the goal is to drive engagement and fulfill its mission. I might also be ..."

That's well put. For me the only way is up from this year, as zero books appealed, so I suspect any jury that chose would be an improvement.

I'm very intrigued with this panel! The regular Booker isn't too aligned with my personal reading tastes, but I'm excited to see the longlist this group will produce.

lol Paul you exaggerate. I read 11 out of the 13. They were solid reads and we got a strong shortlist.

I like it when there are clashing tastes within a jury - Such a Fun Age was a book I did not like at all but then I I’m a fan of Roddy Doyle and Ayobami Adebayo’s books. SJP has good populist taste but she may surprise.

And a lit crit always helps.

Rachel wrote: "I'm very intrigued with this panel! The regular Booker isn't too aligned with my personal reading tastes, but I'm excited to see the longlist this group will produce."

The regular Booker longlist is usually one I love, so I'm very intrigued to see if this panel produces the opposite. I expect to like most of the books.

Such A Fun Age was not a forum favourite - it managed to become behind New Wilderness in our forum rankings (on the Paul method, just above in the Hugh method) which is a very low bar to go under.

I read it pre Booker and had not even considered it as a contender.

And I have to say I really was not at all whelmed by her latest as well

but I have hopes she will be a good judge ��.. I just hope she is a lot less US centric than her books (which I think need a glossary for UK audiences)

Yes, Come and Get It is one of my least favorite books that I've read this year but I do think she could make a good judge.

The author of Such a Fun Age is on the panel??? Hadn't recognised the name, I really hope her taste in books doesn't extend to her own.

Robert wrote: "lol Paul you exaggerate.."

Well I don't - it's a statement of fact that none of the books appealed to me - Held is perhaps the only one I could imagine reading.

Wondering if the new Ocean Vuong, The Emperor of Gladness will make it, I loved his debut and I think in terms of reach to a younger audience it would definitely make sense.

Henk wrote: "Wondering if the new Ocean Vuong, The Emperor of Gladness will make it, I loved his debut and I think in terms of reach to a younger audience it would definitely m..."

It has great chances. The novel is available now on edelweiss for request. I already requested it but given my history with Penguin it is a long shot!

Hamish Hamilton has secured the "long-awaited" novel from Booker Prize winner Kiran Desai, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny.
Publisher Simon Prosser acquired British Commonwealth and volume rights, excluding Canada and India, from Andrew Wylie at The Wylie Agency for publication on 25th September 2025. The audiobook edition will be released simultaneously by Penguin Random House Audio. Hogarth will publish the novel in the United States, Knopf in Canada, Penguin Random House in India, Salamandra in Spain and Campanhia das Letras in Brazil.
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is Desai’s first novel since The Inheritance of Loss which won the Booker Prize in 2006 and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her latest is an "epic" love story about two young Indians living in the US and having to navigate class, race, history and intergenerational bonds. The publisher added: "A love story, a family saga, and a rich novel of ideas, it is the most ambitious and accomplished work yet by one of our greatest novelists."
Desai commented: "Using the comic lens of an endlessly unresolved romance between two modern Indians, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny examines Western and Eastern notions and manifestations of love and solitude as they play out across the geographical and emotional terrain of today’s globalised world. I think only a novel can get at the raw truth regarding what people are privately thinking and negotiating."
Prosser added: "Being with Kiran when she won the Booker Prize in 2006 is one of my happiest memories, so it is a joy to be publishing her new novel at Hamish Hamilton. A book which could only have been written over many years, it has a depth and maturity which sweeps the reader into the story from the very first pages. A grand love story, spanning decades and continents, it is told with remarkable intimacy, intelligence, humour and style, charged by the shifting politics of an ever-changing world."

It is a 784 pages long and will be published on 9/25/2025

Two things I’ve noted.

First, the Booker has confirmed in their latest email that the longlist, shortlist and winner timelines are July, September and November, but without confirming specific dates. Glad we’re not going an August longlist!

Second, I had a look at the rules and saw this:

“This year we will not be pre-notifying publishers if their authors have been longlisted. Please ensure that you have supplied final versions of your print and digital assets for all of your titles by Friday, 27 June as these will be utilised for the public announcement in July.��

Looks like a direct reaction to this year’s leaks, so we likely won’t be getting anything from the rumour mill next time.