39 episodes

A weekly podcast featuring lively conversations and fascinating insights from the Booker Prizes. Join us as we revisit winning novels from years past, speak to authors and experts from the literary world and peer behind the curtain of this year's International Booker Prize and Booker Prize.

The Booker Prize Podcast The Booker Prize

    • Arts
    • 4.4 • 46 Ratings

A weekly podcast featuring lively conversations and fascinating insights from the Booker Prizes. Join us as we revisit winning novels from years past, speak to authors and experts from the literary world and peer behind the curtain of this year's International Booker Prize and Booker Prize.

    Empire of the Sun or Hotel du Lac: The Booker vs the Bookies

    Empire of the Sun or Hotel du Lac: The Booker vs the Bookies

    In 1984, many assumed that J.G. Ballard's Empire of the Sun had the Booker Prize in the bag. But actually, it was Anita Brookner's Hotel du Lac that clinched the prize in the end. This week, we're exploring the bookies' favourite vs the Booker winner to ask which book should have won: Brookner's short, quiet novel set in a genteel Swiss hotel or Ballard's long and action-packed autobiographical epic set in wartime Shanghai.

    In this episode Jo and James:

    Discuss the Booker Prize 1984 shortlist

    Share a brief biography of Anita Brookner

    Summarise the plot of Anita Brookner's Hotel du Lac

    Explore the characters in Brookner's novel

    Share a brief biography of J.G. Ballard

    Summarise the plot of Empire of the Sun

    Who should read these books

    Discuss their thoughts on both novels and which they think should have won the Booker Prize 1984


    Reading list:

    Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/empire-of-the-sun


    Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/hotel-du-lac


    Small World by David Lodge: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/small-world


    Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/flauberts-parrot


    In Custody by Anita Desai: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/in-custody


    According to Mark by Penelope Lively: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/according-to-mark



    A full transcript of the episode is available at our website: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/the-booker-prize-podcast-episode-37-empire-of-the-sun-or-hotel-du-lac

    Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit http://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 56 min
    Announcing the International Booker Prize 2024 longlist

    Announcing the International Booker Prize 2024 longlist

    It's a big week in the literary calendar (if we do say so, ourselves), as we've just announced this year's International Booker Prize longlist. To mark the occasion, James is joined by Fiammetta Rocco, the administrator of the International Booker Prize, and Eleanor Wachtel, chair of the 2024 judging panel. Listen in as they discuss the prize, this year's longlisted books and why translated fiction matters.

    Conversation topics in this episode:

    Fiammetta shares how the International Booker Prize began, and how it works in tandem with the Booker Prize

    The importance of translators

    The surging popularity of translated fiction, especially amongst younger readers

    What it's like to be a judge for the International Booker Prize

    Common themes in contemporary literature across the world

    The 2024 longlist


    Reading list:


    Not a River by Selva Almada, translated by Annie McDermott: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/not-a-river



    Simpatía by Rodrigo Blanco Calderón, translated by Noel Hernández González and Daniel Hahn: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/simpatia



    Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated by Michael Hofmann: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/kairos



    The Details by Ia Genberg, translated by Kira Josefsson: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-details



    White Nights by Urszula Honek, translated by Kate Webster: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/white-nights



    Mater 2-10 by Hwang Sok-yong, translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/mater-2-10



    A Dictator Calls by Ismail Kadare, translated by John Hodgson: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/a-dictator-calls



    The Silver Bone by Andrey Kurkov, translated by Boris Dralyuk: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-silver-bone



    What I'd Rather Not Think About by Jente Posthuma, translated by Sarah Timmer Harvey: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/what-id-rather-not-think-about



    Lost on Me by Veronica Raimo, translated by Leah Janeczko: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/lost-on-me



    The House on Via Gemito by Domenico Starnone, translated by Oonagh Stransky: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-house-on-via-gemito



    Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior, translated by Johnny Lorenz: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/crooked-plow



    Undiscovered by Gabriela Wiener, translated by Julia Sanches: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/undiscovered




    A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

    Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit http://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 39 min
    The Booker at the Oscars: The Remains of the Day

    The Booker at the Oscars: The Remains of the Day

    It’s the third and final installment in our mini-series where we revisit Booker Prize novels whose cinematic adaptations were nominated at the Academy Awards. In this episode, we’re taking a closer look at The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, which won the 1989 Booker Prize. Ishiguro’s moving portrait of the perfect English butler was adapted four years later by James Ivory, in a film which received eight nominations at the Oscars. Tune in to hear Jo and James discuss the novel – which also happens to be our March Monthly Spotlight – and its silver screen counterpart. 

    In this episode Jo and James:

    Share a brief biography of Kazuo Ishiguro

    Summarise the plot of the book, and share their thoughts on it

    Explore the character of Stevens and the idea of dignity which he based his life on

    Discuss the narrative devices Ishiguro uses throughout the novel

    Delve into James Ivory’s adaptation, and the differences between book and film


    Reading list:


    The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-remains-of-the-day



    An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/an-artist-of-the-floating-world



    A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

    Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit http://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 59 min
    The Booker at the Oscars: The English Patient

    The Booker at the Oscars: The English Patient

    Welcome back to the second of our Booker at the Oscars mini-series where we explore Booker Prize novels whose silver screen adaptations went on to experience Academy Award success. This time we're revisiting The English Patient, the joint Booker Prize 1992 winner by Michael Ondaatje (the other winner was Barry Unsworth's Sacred Hunger) and its silver screen counterpart, directed by Anthony Minghella.

    In this episode Jo and James:

    Share a brief biography of Michael Ondaatje

    Summarise the plot of the book, and discuss their thoughts on it

    Explore the four main characters we meet in the novel

    Delve into Anthony Minghella's film adaptation and the differences between book and film


    Reading list:

    The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-english-patient


    Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/sacred-hunger


    Black Dogs by Ian McEwan: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/black-dogs


    Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-butcher-boy


    Warlight by Michael Ondaatje: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/warlight


    Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje

    The Histories by Herodotus

    In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje


    A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

    Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit http://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 43 min
    What makes a classic novel? Plus six Booker Prize classics

    What makes a classic novel? Plus six Booker Prize classics

    When does a book transcend from contemporary literature to a classic? Does someone have to confirm its classic status? And can all Booker Prize novels be considered classics just by being part of the Booker canon? This, and more, is what Jo and James are trying to get to the heart of in this week's episode. Listen in as they discuss what makes a classic novel and chat about which Booker books should be known as classics.

    In this episode Jo and James:

    Consider what makes a classic

    Each pick three novels from the Booker Library that are – or should be – considered classics

    Discuss the plots of their chosen novels and why they are deserving of classic status


    Reading list:

    Something to Answer For by P.H. Newby: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/something-to-answer-for


    A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/a-month-in-the-country


    How Late It Was, How Late by James Kelman: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/how-late-it-was-how-late


    St. Urbain's Horseman by Mordecai Richler: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/st-urbains-horseman


    Atonement by Ian McEwan: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/atonement


    The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-remains-of-the-day


    The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-handmaids-tale


    Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/shuggie-bain


    Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/schindlers-ark


    The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-english-patient


    Autobiography by Morrisey

    The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

    Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/midnights-children


    The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-siege-of-krishnapur


    The Conservationist by Nadine Gordimer: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-conservationist


    Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/oscar-and-lucinda


    The Ghost Road by Pat Barker: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-ghost-road


    Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/disgrace


    Staying On by Paul Scott: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/staying-on


    The Famished Road by Ben Okri: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-famished-road


    Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/cloud-atlas


    The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-line-of-beauty


    Autumn by Ali Smith: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/autumn


    Crudo by Olivia Laing

    No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/no-one-is-talking-about-this


    Waterland by Graham Swift: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/waterland


    G. by John Berger: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/g



    Read Alex Clark's piece, “Which novels in the Booker Prize archives should be considered classics?”: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/which-booker-prize-novels-should-be-considered-classics

    A full transcript of the episode is available at our website: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/the-booker-prize-podcast-episode-33-what-makes-a-classic-novel

    Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit http://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap

    • 47 min
    The Booker at the Oscars: Schindler's Ark vs Schindler's List

    The Booker at the Oscars: Schindler's Ark vs Schindler's List

    It's Oscars season so we're off to the movies. Welcome to the first in a new mini-series where we explore Booker Prize novels whose silver screen adaptations went on to experience Oscar glory. We're starting with Schindler's Ark, the Booker Prize 1982 winner, which also happens to be the first Booker-winning novel to become a film that won a Best Picture Oscar. Listen in as we dive into the book and its film counterpart.

    In this episode Jo and James:

    Share a brief biography of Thomas Keneally

    Revisit the origin story of Schindler's Ark

    Consider whether “non-fiction novels” are really novels

    Summarise the plot of the book, and discuss their thoughts on it

    Explore the character of Oskar Schindler

    Delve into Steven Spielberg's adaptation, Schindler's List, and the differences between book and film


    Reading list:

    Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally

    The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

    Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard

    Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner

    Erasure by Percival Everett

    The Trees by Percival Everett

    The Place at Whitton by Thomas Keneally

    The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith by Thomas Keneally

    Gossip from the Forest by Thomas Keneally

    Confederates by Thomas Keneally

    An Ice-Cream War by William Boyd

    The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally


    A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.
    Take a look at all of the TV and film adaptations of Booker Prize novels here.
    And to watch the full interview with Thomas Keneally, head to our YouTube channel here.
    Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit http://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 51 min

Customer Reviews

4.4 out of 5
46 Ratings

46 Ratings

Kaishalovesbooks ,

How did I not know this was a thing?!

I have LOVED everything about the Booker Prize from the judging process to trying to read through the Longlist and guess the winner. This is a podcast created for Uber book nerd. And it is wonderful.

mhcgrad ,

Can’t understand!

It is nearly impossible for a non-UK listener to understand him, and she laughs way too much! I can not listen which disappoints me terribly.

Top Podcasts In Arts

The Bright Side
iHeartPodcasts and Hello Sunshine
Fresh Air
NPR
The Moth
The Moth
99% Invisible
Roman Mars
The Recipe with Kenji and Deb
Deb Perelman & J. Kenji López-Alt
McCartney: A Life in Lyrics
iHeartPodcasts and Pushkin Industries

You Might Also Like

Books and Authors
BBC Radio 4
Bookclub
BBC Radio 4
Backlisted
Backlisted
The Book Review
The New York Times
The Book Club Review
The Book Club Review
The Waterstones Podcast
Waterstones