2019 Booker Prize Longlist

Margaret Atwood (Canada), The Testaments
Kevin Barry (Ireland), Night Boat to Tangier
Oyinkan Braithwaite (UK/Nigeria), My Sister, The Serial Killer
Lucy Ellmann (USA/UK), Ducks, Newburyport
Bernardine Evaristo (UK), Girl, Woman, Other
John Lanchester (UK), The Wall
Deborah Levy (UK), The Man Who Saw Everything
Valeria Luiselli (Mexico/Italy), Lost Children Archive
Chigozie Obioma (Nigeria), An Orchestra of Minorities
Max Porter (UK), Lanny
Salman Rushdie (UK/India), Quichotte
Elif Shafak (UK/Turkey), 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World
Jeanette Winterson (UK), Frankissstein

Thanks for posting the list, Darryl.

As usual, many of these are not available in Canada yet, but often being longlisted brings up the publishing date, so hopefully that happens. I've requested the ones that are available from my local library so that I can start reading!

I've only read the Braithwaite so far, and I enjoyed it.

I am beyond excited for the Atwood; I don't think I've been this eager to read a book since the last Harry Potter was released :) Atwood is my favourite author, and I love The Handmaid's Tale.

You're welcome, Cait. It looks to be a strong longlist on a first glance. I've only read Lanny, which I was very fond of, and I'm glad to see that it was chosen. I downloaded a copy of My Sister, the Serial Killer yesterday, and I'll start looking for other longlisted books next week.

>2 Cait86: I'm with you regarding the Atwood, Cait. I added my name to the hold list at my library today. But I’m a little confused about the prize rules. If the book hasn’t been published in the UK yet, how can it be nominated for the prize?

>4 lauralkeet: Books published between October 1 of the previous year and September 30 of the current year of the prize are eligible. There have been a sizable number of books which weren't available at the time of the longlist announcement, and this year there are three books that haven't been published in the UK yet, The Man Who Saw Everything, (Aug 29), Quichotte (Aug 29) and The Testaments (Sep 3). Occasionally the publishers will release the books ahead of the original date, and hopefully that will the case again this year.

I've just finished creating threads for each of the longlisted books. So far only five have been published in the US and Canada:

Lanny
Lost Children Archive
My Sister, the Serial Killer
An Orchestra of Minorities
The Wall

As I mentioned in >5 kidzdoc: three books haven't been published at all. That leaves five books that are currently available in the UK only:

Ducks, Newburyport (US and Canada Sep 10)
Frankisstein (US and Canada October 1)
Girl, Woman, Other (US and Canada ?)
Night Boat to Tangier (US and Canada Sep 17)
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World (US and Canada ?)

>5 kidzdoc: thanks Darryl. I'm used to seeing prize nominees that aren't available in the US, but always assumed they had been released in the UK. It seems weird to nominate a book before its release, but hey what do I know.

>7 lauralkeet: It is a strange rule, and I've often wondered why the Booker people don't change it to be August 1-July 31, since the longlist is always announced at the end of July.

>4 lauralkeet: Apparently the judges had to sign a confidentiality agreement before they were allowed to read The Testaments!

>1 kidzdoc: Thanks for posting Darryl! I have read two (The Wall and My Sister) and have two more on my shelves (Lanny and Lost Children’s Archive) so I’ll start with these two. I am in the US at the moment and thought that I saw Frankissstein here in a bookstore but I might be wrong.

>9 Simone2: You're welcome, Barbara. Benita (benitastrnad) nabbed an advanced review copy of Frankisstein at the American Library Association mid year conference recently. I just looked for on Amazon US; the print edition from Jonathan Cape is currently available for purchase, but the Kindle e-book version won't be available until 1 October. I'm not sure, but I think the print version is from the UK, and the e-books come from a US publisher.

I purchased the hardcover editions of Lost Children Archive and An Orchestra of Minorities at my favorite bookshop in Philadelphia on Monday, I received the UK edition of Night Boat to Tangier in the mail on Saturday, I bought the Kindle editions of My Sister, the Serial Killer and The Wall last Wednesday, and I'll receive the UK edition of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World from The Book Depository early next month. I plan to get the other books when I visit London in September.

I too am looking forward to the publication of several of these... I've also only read the Braithwaite on the list though I quite liked it.