Like many book lovers, I keep an eye on updates from literary prizes. I’m especially fond of the Booker Prize and the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Both are often reliable sources for good contemporary literature to add to your reading list. Some books that have been nominated or won these prizes that have been reviewed here are listed below.
The Booker Prize
I have a special fondness for the Booker because I think it saved contemporary literature for me. Before discovering the prize and the books it has acknowledged, my forays into contemporary lit had been very disappointing and I was beginning to think I should just stick to the classics. I have not always been wowed by their picks but it has certainly been more rewarding than otherwise. Booker Prize nominees and winners I have read and reviewed here are listed below.
| Year | Placing | Title | Author |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Winner | Staying On | Paul Scott |
| 1978 | Winner | The Sea, the Sea | Iris Murdoch |
| 1981 | Winner | Midnight’s Children | Salman Rushdie |
| 1986 | Shortlisted | The Handmaid’s Tale | Margaret Atwood |
| 1990 | Winner | Possession | AS Byatt |
| 1991 | Shortlisted | Such A Long Journey | Rohinton Mistry |
| 1996 | Shortlisted | A Fine Balance | Rohinton Mistry |
| 1997 | Winner | The God of Small Things | Arundhati Roy |
| 1998 | Winner | Amsterdam | Ian McEwan |
| 2002 | Shortlisted | Family Matters | Rohinton Mistry |
| 2006 | Winner | The Inheritance of Loss | Kiran Desai |
| 2007 | Shortlisted | Mister Pip | Lloyd Jones |
| 2007 | Shortlisted | The Reluctant Fundamentalist | Mohsin Hamid |
| 2008 | Longlisted | A Case of Exploding Mangoes | Mohammed Hanif |
| 2008 | Shortlisted | Sea of Poppies | Amitav Ghosh |
| 2008 | Winner | The White Tiger | Aravind Adiga |
| 2011 | Shortlisted | Half Blood Blues | Esi Edugyan |
| 2011 | Shortlisted | Pigeon English | Stephen Kelman |
| 2011 | Shortlisted | The Sisters Brothers | Patrick deWitt |
| 2011 | Winner | The Sense of an Ending | Julian Barnes |
| 2012 | Shortlisted | Narcopolis | Jeet Thayil |
The Women’s Prize for Fiction
The Women’s Prize for Fiction (formerly The Orange Prize, The Bailey’s Prize, etc) are a great source for compelling contemporary literature. The list of books I have read and reviewed here is short but sure to grow as I have many more on my shelves to read.
| Year | Placing | Title | Author |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Winner | We Need to Talk About Kevin | Lionel Shriver |
| 2007 | Shortlisted | The Inheritance of Loss | Kiran Desai |
| 2009 | Shortlisted | Burnt Shadows | Kamila Shamsie |
| 2012 | Shortlisted | Half Blood Blues | Esi Edugyan |
| 2013 | Longlisted | The Light Between Oceans | ML Stedman |
| 2014 | Shortlisted | Burial Rites | Hannah Kent |
