News
The announcement of the winner of the International Booker Prize 2020 will not take place, as planned, on 19th May. The winner will be announced later, when the coronavirus situation will allow us to appropriately honour this literature celebration.
In discussions with the Booker Prize Foundation, publishers have stressed how severely book distribution is currently disrupted because of COVID-19, which also affects the lack of adequate promotion of the titles from the so-called shortlist. The postponement of the announcement of the winner will give time to support the publishing market at this difficult time.
‘After careful consideration, we’ve decided on this course of action to ensure that the shortlist, and ultimately the winner, can be celebrated at a time when readership of these exceptional novels is made easier for everyone. As the world begins to recover, their contents will be found all the more rewarding for being, in effect, a form of travel,’ says Gaby Wood, Literary Director of the Booker Prize Foundation.
The Booker Prize Foundation is keeping the situation under review and will communicate a new announcement date as soon as possible. Plans will also be unveiled to re-promote the shortlist in the lead-up to the winner announcement.