Culture
22 Sep 23

Shortlist for the 2023 Booker prize is a third Irish

Paul Lynch and Paul Murray are two of six authors nominated for the prestigious literary prize shortlist.

This year's nominations for the coveted Booker Prize shortlist include two Irish authors.

Both Dublin-based, Ireland's Paul Lynch and Paul Murray were announced as nominees for the coveted literary prize yesterday. Other nominees include one British author, one Canadian author, and two Americans.

The Irish Arts Council expressed their congratulations to the pair in a statement shared on social media. "These are remarkable times for Irish fiction and this recognition for Paul Lynch and Paul Murray is so deserved."

The Arts Council extends its congratulations to Irish writers Paul Lynch and Paul Murray on the news that their novels have been shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize. #BookerPrizes2023 pic.twitter.com/0DXlkxWRoC

— The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon (@artscouncil_ie) September 21, 2023

"The quality of the writing is extraordinary," said Booker Prize judge Professor James Sharpiro, who also said it was no accident that Ireland had done well. He called the achievement a "return on investment" after noting Ireland's tradition of steadfast support for writers. Though this is the first time since 2005 that two Irish writers were shortlisted for the prize, Ireland has seen a movement of celebrated modern writers including Sally Rooney and Anna Burns.

Lynch's 'Prophet Song' is set in Dublin and is set in a future in which the country is sliding toward totalitarianism. Murray's 'Bee Sting' is similarly set in Ireland: it centres around a midlands family in financial and emotional crisis.

The longlist, announced in August, also included books from two other Irish authors: Elaine Feeney's How to Build a Boat and Sebastian Barry's Old God's Time.

The winner of the prize will be announced in late November, and that author will receive a £50,000 prize. Plus, in the past, the recipients of the Booker Prize have seen a massive increase in book sales, sometimes by up to 2000%.

The full 2023 Booker Prize shortlist is:

Sarah Bernstein, Study for Obedience (Granta Books)
Jonathan Escoffery, If I Survive You (4th Estate)
Paul Harding, This Other Eden (Hutchinson Heinemann)
Paul Lynch, Prophet Song (Oneworld)
Chetna Maroo, Western Lane (Picador)
Paul Murray, The Bee Sting (Hamish Hamilton)