Paul Beatty wins 2016 Man Booker Prize

Paul Beatty (54) has won the 2016 Man Booker Prize. With this he becomes the first US author to win this prestigious literary award.
He was bestowed with this award for his racial satirical novel ‘The Sellout’ at a ceremony held in London’s Guildhall. His novel tells the story of a young black man who tries to reinstate slavery and racial segregation in a suburb of Los Angeles.

About Paul Beatty

• He was born in Los Angeles in 1962.
• He had received an MFA in creative writing from Brooklyn College and an MA in psychology from Boston University.
• His novels are The White Boy Shuffle (1996), Tuff (2000), Slumberland (2008) and The Sellout (2015).
• In 2016, he was bestowed with the National Book Critics Circle Award (Fiction) for his novel The Sellout.

About Man Booker Prize

• The Man Booker Prize world’s most prestigious English-language literary award. It was launched in 1969 and presented by the Man Group.
• The award aims at promoting the finest literary work in fiction by rewarding the best novel of the year written in English and published in the United Kingdom.
• It carries cash prize of 50,000 pounds. The authors are shortlisted by judges from a wide range of disciplines and all with a passion for quality fiction.
• The 2015 Man Booker Prize was conferred on Jamaican author Marlon James for his book A Brief History of Seven Killings.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2016