Australian author wins the 2014 Man Booker Prize

Richard FlanaganThe wait is finally over…Richard Flanagan wins the Man Booker Prize 2014 for the fiction ‘The Narrow Road to the Deep North’, published by Chatto & Windus. Tasmanian-born author – Richard Flangan – is the third Australian to win the coveted 2014 Man Booker Prize which, for the first time in its 46-year history, is now expanded to include entries from writers of all nationalities, writing originally in English and published in the UK. He joins an impressive literary canon of former winners including fellow Australians Thomas Kenneally (Schindler’s Ark, 1982) and Peter Carey (Oscar & Lucinda, 1988 and The True History of the Kelly Gang, 2001).

The award-winning book…

The Narrow Road to the Deep North is the sixth novel from Richard Flanagan, who is considered by many to be one of Australia’s finest novelists. It centres upon the experiences of surgeon Dorrigo Evans in a Japanese POW camp on the now infamous Thailand-Burma railway.

Named after a famous Japanese book by the haiku poet Basho, The Narrow Road to the Deep North is described by the 2014 judges as ‘a harrowing account of the cost of war to all who are caught up in it’. Questioning the meaning of heroism, the book explores what motivates acts of extreme cruelty and shows that perpetrators may be as much victims as those they abuse. Flanagan’s father, who died the day he finished The Narrow Road to the Deep North, was a survivor of the Burma Death Railway.

The award…

Richard Flanagan was announced as the 2014 winner by AC Grayling, chair of judges, at an awards dinner at London’s Guildhall. Flanagan was presented with a trophy from HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and a £50,000 cheque from Emmanuel Roman, chief executive of Man Group. The investment management firm has sponsored the prize since 2002. In addition to his £50,000 prize and trophy, Flanagan also receives a designer bound edition of his book, and a further £2,500 for being shortlisted. The special designer bound edition of the book was created by Sue Doggett, a fellow of the UK’s principal bookbinding society, the Designer Bookbinders AC Grayling commented, “The two great themes from the origin of literature are love and war: this is a magnificent novel of love and war. Written in prose of extraordinary elegance and force, it bridges East and West, past and present, with a story of guilt and heroism.”

The winners of the Man Booker Prize was chosen from 154 entries, including nine called in by the judges.