Welcome to the RU-vid channel of the Booker Prizes with exclusive video content from the Booker Prize for Fiction and the International Booker Prize. The Booker Prize and The International Booker Prize promote the finest in fiction by rewarding the very best books of the year. #FinestFiction.
( My book Mirage was longlisted - the last 10 selected books from 129 books submitted from which the shortlist, the last 6, were selected - for the Booker Prize 1999. ) Toward the end of the Booker Speech, Gerald Kaufman, the Chairman of the judges spoke about my book, "...I MYSELF HAD AN ESPECIAL PREDILECTION FOR MIRAGE, BY BANDULA CHANDRARATNA, WHICH WAS NOT ONLY VERY MOVING BUT ALSO HAD THAT SPECIAL QUALITY I WAS LOOKING FOR IN A POTENTIAL BOOER PRIZE WINNER..) This Channel 4 video does not show Gerald Kaufman's full speech; the Late Gerald Kaufman reviewed my second book, An Eye For An Eye for The Spectator and it was published on 28 July 2001. He wrote in the review: Almost exactly two years ago, at a lunch for the Booker Prize Judges, Sheena Mackay and I were discussing a book that both of us had admired. Mirage, by a totally unknown author named Bandula Chandraratna, was published by an equally unknown publish house, Serendip, set up by Chandraratna for the sole purpose of issuing this first novel, which the Sri Lankan author had written in Milton Keynes and which had been turned down by other publishers over a period o 13 years. Shena said it was a pity that this tragedy of Sayeed, a simple man living in a country that might be Saudi Arabia, could not make the Booker short-list. I told her that, with enough support from other judges, it could indeed be short-listed; it almost was, and I gave it a special mention in my chairman's speech at that autumn's Booker Awards. Booker can work magic: Mirage was taken up by a mainstream publisher. Now comes this sequel, which can be read independently of Mirage. Some impressive first novels are flukes their authors cannot repeat. An Eye for An Eye dispels any misgivings that Chandraratna only has one novel in him.
Bandula Chandraratna Our Publishing Company,, Seredip Publishers Ltd, published the edition of Mirage which was submitted for the Booker Prize 1999. Authors were not allowed to submit books; only the publishers were allowed, and each publisher could only submit two books. For the 1999 Booker Prize, there were 129 books submitted; the odd number was that Serendip Publisher had only one book to submit - Mirage.
( My book Mirage was longlisted - the last 10 selected books from 129 books submitted from which the shortlist, the last 6, were selected - for the Booker Prize 1999. ) Toward the end of the Booker Speech, Gerald Kaufman, the Charman of the judges spoke about my book, "...I MYSELF HAD AN ESPECIAL PREDILECTION FOR MIRAGE, BY BANDULA CHANDRARATNA, WHICH WAS NOT ONLY VERY MOVING BUT ALSO HAD THAT SPECIAL QUALITY I WAS LOOKING FOR IN A POTENTIAL BOOER PRIZE WINNER..) The following Channel 4 video does not show Geraldd Kaufman's full speech; Late Gerald Kaufman reviewed my second book, An Eye For An Eye for The Spectator and it was published on 28 July 2001. He wrote in the review: Almost exactly two years ago, at a lunch for the Booker Prize Judges, Sheena Mackay and I were discussing a book that both of us had admired. Mirage, by a totally unknown author named Bandula Chandraratna, was published by an equally unknown publish house, Serendip, set up by Chandraratna for the sole purpose of issuing this first novel, which the Sri Lankan author had written in Milton Keynes and which had been turned down by other publishers over a period o 13 years. Shena said it was a pity that this tragedy of Sayeed, a simple man living in a country that might be Saudi Arabia, could not make the Booker short-list. I told her that, with enough support from other judges, it could indeed be short-listed; it almost was, and I gave it a special mention in my chairman's speech at that autumn's Booker Awards. Booker can work magic: Mirage was taken up by a mainstream publisher. Now comes this sequel, which can be read independently of Mirage. Some impressive first novels are flukes their authors cannot repeat. An Eye for An Eye dispels any misgivings that Chandraratna only has one novel in him....
Wow. What a list. Honestly just wow. Really, really exciting. Can’t wait to follow along. Proud on behalf of all the authors. My Friends is a book I’ve wanted to read since it came out so I’m so, so pleased to see it here especially but there’s sth about all of them that sound very intriguing, for sure. Happy reading! 🙌
