US author George Saunders wins 2017 Man Booker Prize
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Wednesday, September 3, 2025


US author George Saunders wins 2017 Man Booker Prize
US author George Saunders speaks after being annouced as the winner of the 2017 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, at the Guildhall in central London on October 17, 2017. US author George Saunders became on Tuesday only the second American writer to win Britain's renowned Man Booker Prize, which was awarded for his first full-length novel "Lincoln in the Bardo". Judges for the prestigious English-language literary award praised as "utterly original" the book that chronicles the death of Abraham Lincoln's 11-year-old son Willie using the accounts of hundreds of narrators. Chris Jackson / POOL / AFP.

by Joe Jackson



LONDON (AFP).- US author George Saunders on Tuesday became only the second American writer to win Britain's renowned Man Booker Prize, which was awarded for his first full-length novel "Lincoln in the Bardo".

Judges for the world's most prestigious English-language literary award praised as "utterly original" the book that chronicles the death of Abraham Lincoln's 11-year-old son Willie using the accounts of hundreds of narrators.

"The form and style of this utterly original novel reveals a witty, intelligent, and deeply moving narrative," said Lola Young, chair of the judging panel, in announcing the prize at a ceremony in London.

Saunders, 58, described the award as a "great honour, which I hope to live up to with the rest of my work, for the rest of my life."

In a brief, politically-tinged acceptance speech, he made several thinly-veiled references to the controversial policies of US President Donald Trump.

"We live in a strange time," he told the audience. "In the US now we're hearing a lot about the need to protect culture. Well, this tonight is culture."

He later told reporters he was in disbelief and numb at the award.

"For an artist, I think validation is really helpful," he added.

"My opinion of myself improves a little bit."

The winner of the Man Booker receives £52,500 ($69,300, 58,800 euros), although the bigger prize is seen as a spike in sales which invariably follow the announcement of the winner.

Relishing artistic freedom
This year's shortlist stoked controversy over its big name omissions and eclectic line up, with one British columnist calling it "baffling" and a leading US critic decrying its "Americanisation".

It pitted three nominees from the US against two British writers and a British-Pakistani author.

The award, launched in 1969, was only open to novelists from Commonwealth states until it began permitting those from other English-speaking countries in 2014.

Last year Paul Beatty became the first American to win for his novel, "The Sellout".

Saunders was the British bookmakers' favourite ahead of the 2017 announcement on Tuesday.

He wrote "Lincoln in the Bardo" over a four-year period, after first conceptualising it 20 years ago, the author told a press conference following the ceremony.

Saunders said he was unsure how exactly to tell the story at the outset, but relished the artistic freedom.

"I think the true mastery (of storytelling) is to be willing to wade into something and not be sure how it's going to turn out," he added.

'No fights, no blood'
In a lengthy and varied writing career, Saunders has penned award-winning short story collections, essays, illustrated fables and a bestselling children's book, as well as many pieces of journalism.

In 2006, he was awarded both a Guggenheim Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship, while in 2009 he received an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

To clinch the Man Booker Prize he beat competition from a varied selection of writers, including fellow American Paul Auster, who penned "4321."

The shortlist also included two other debut novelists -- Emily Fridlund, who wrote "History of Wolves", and Fiona Mozley, the 29-year-old British author of "Elmet".

British author Ali Smith was shortlisted for the fourth time for "Autumn", while Mohsin Hamid, a British-Pakistani writer, completed the line-up with his second shortlisted novel, "Exit West."

The Man Booker's five person judging panel only reached its decision at 2:40 pm (1340 GMT) on Tuesday afternoon, according to Young, the chair.

She said the nationalities of the writers were not a factor, and the group were "very diligent, very thorough" in their considerations.

"There were no fights, no blood on the carpet," she said.


© Agence France-Presse










Today's News

October 19, 2017

First exhibition devoted to comparing Picasso and Lautrec opens in Madrid

Hammershøi's 'Interior with Woman at Piano' to be offered by Sotheby's in New York

Louis XIV, Napoleon diamond to be auctioned off in Geneva

Tate Modern opens first major museum exhibition in the UK of artists Ilya and Emilia Kabakov

Hermann Historica auction presents a fascinating array of objects from antiquity and the Middle Ages

Migrants, women inspire at London design award show

Canada's Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie dies at 53

Special exhibition honoring the works of the late Mel Casas opens at Ruiz-Healy Art

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County unveils concept for new project

Exhibition pairs monumental Murakami works with historic Japanese masterpieces

Dorotheum announces highlights from its Design Auction

Littlejohn Contemporary opens exhibition of works by Kate Breakey

New Curator of Art appointed at UT Austin's Harry Ransom Center

Radical Russian artist charged over Paris bank blaze

Britain's Big Ben to bong again but not on time

Final work by US playwright Shepard to be published

'Rock n' roll hero' Trotsky gets Russian biopic for 1917 anniversary

US author George Saunders wins 2017 Man Booker Prize

Watts Gallery opens exhibition of contemporary British Landscapes

Gift of Tseng Kwong Chi photographs to Block Museum honors past provost

The Baltimore Museum of Art exhibits 12 collages by the late African American artist Al Loving

Sierra Leone to sell 709-carat diamond in New York auction

Smithsonian launches drive for major hip-hop anthology




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 




Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)


Editor: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful