The Man Booker Prize and the Emerging Canon of Contemporary British Fiction

Abstract

The article sets out to consider the tentative shape of the canon of contemporary British fi ction and to examine the extent to which it has been infl uenced by the most prestigious of British literary prizes – the Booker. An overview of the Prize’s history and a summary of its rules and regulations (eligibility, the jury, the selection process) is followed by an assessment of its legacy, positive and negative, in promoting literary fi ction in Britain. The second part of the article investigates the problematic nature of the notion of “contemporary British fi ction” and considers several aspects of canonicity as well as the essential factors involved in the formation of the canon. The last part provides some empirical data arranged into four tables. It juxtaposes the results of two surveys on the teaching canon of contemporary British fi ction (carried out by Bentley, and by Tew and Addis) with the information about the recognition which the canonical authors and novels have received from the Booker juries. Two of the tables seek to illustrate the prominence of British writers in critical surveys of contemporary literature and on the shortlists of the Booker. The conclusions point to the Prize’s greater potential for infl uencing the critical rather than the teaching canon, while conceding that there are numerous examples of authors and texts that have their place in either canon despite their lack of any Booker success.