“The society which has abolished every kind of adventure makes its own abolition the only possible adventure.” Paris, May 1968


Wednesday 19 October 2011

Booker won by scouse striker shock.

The Booker Prize, once sneered at by Julian Barnes for being "posh bingo" has been won by - Julian Barnes. You know, Julian Barnes, black geezer, used to play for Liverpool.

2 comments:

henry said...

The BBC explained the prize to me when I was watching the telly. It's not an X-factor phone-in or a best-seller type of prize but one where the publishers get to nominate their own books and a "chosen" panel get to judge the winner.

Some writers have it as part of a contract that their book will be entered (no matter what).

So one of those Barnes' has got a much better Agent than the other one. Even though they've both got dodgy knees.

Gitane said...

Hang on Ray as I remember you did a fair bit of self promotion to get your name on the Orwell list! Have to agree with henry though all the prizes and awards for artists appears to be another way of passing the brown envelopes between promoters and publishers.
My local library gets what I want for fuck all money ( a pound for inter library loans though) so anyone can by pass the hideous promotion of bookshops.
Personally I would give an award to the middle classes for the Barbour jacket and the impeccable poacher's pockets that can hold an entire selection of "must read" promotions.