🚨 An advance warning that this episode features spoilers for Atonement.September is here, which means it's the start of another academic year. So get out your brand new stationery and settle down as we head back to school... no polyester uniforms or exams though, don't worry. This week, we're taking a look at Booker-nominated books that feature on school syllabuses in the UK and, particularly, we're diving into Ian McEwan's Atonement. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2001, the novel explores how a young girl’s imagination runs riot with far-reaching and devastating consequences.In this episode Jo and James discuss: Their favourite Booker-nominated books that feature on school syllabuses A brief history of Ian McEwan's writing career The plot of Atonement The characters and themes of the novel How Joe Wright's film adaptation of Atonement compares to the books The Booker Clinic: books to help quell homesickness Reading list: Atonement by Ian McEwan Amsterdam by Ian McEwan Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Saturday by Ian McEwan Spies by Michael Frayn Brick Lane by Monica Ali Waterland by Graham Swift Love and Summer by William Trevor Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey Oxygen by Andrew Miller number9dream by David Mitchell Hotel World by Ali Smith Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller The Dark Room by Rachel Seiffert Black Dogs by Ian McEwan On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan Enduring Love by Ian McEwan Further Resources: Ian McEwan on BBC Radio 4's This Cultural Life Ian McEwan on his novels as A-Level set texts via The Guardian 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

In 1970, when the Booker Prize was still in its infancy (its second year running, in fact), the prize was awarded to Bernice Rubens. Rubens was the first woman to win the award and is still the only Welsh person to ever win the prize. 2023 marks the centenary of Rubens' birth so, this week, we're taking a closer look at The Elected Member – a piercing novel that explores what happens to a respectable, close-knit Jewish family when their prodigious son becomes a middle-aged drug addict.In this episode Jo and James: Ponder the weight of being the eldest child Share a brief biography of Bernice Rubens Give a slightly spoiler-y summary of The Elected Member Discuss whether parental expectation can turn from encouragement to abuse Consider how love can be damaging Wonder why Bernice Rubens has fallen off the radar Decide who should read The Elected Member Reading list: The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens Bruno's Dream by Iris Murdoch Mrs Eckdorf in O'Neill's Hotel by William Trevor Eva Trout by Elizabeth Bowen The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles When I Grow Up by Bernice Rubens The Old Devils by Kingsley Amis In Transit by Brigid Brophy The Fire-Dwellers by Margaret Laurence The Hungry Grass by Richard Power Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark 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

In 2014, the Booker Prize broadened its submission rules to allow books from any nationality, as long as they were written in English and published in the UK. This change in eligibility led to worries around whether American novels would dominate the award's nominations, but it wasn't until 2016 when Paul Beatty scooped the prize with The Sellout that the prize went to an author from the States. The Sellout is a biting satire on race relations told through its protagonist, who is on trial for trying to reinstate slavery and segregation – and this week on the podcast, we're revisiting the story.In this episode Jo and James: Consider what the inclusion of American authors and novels has meant for the Booker Prize Share a brief biography of Paul Beatty Give a slightly spoiler-y summary of The Sellout Discuss whether the novel is an on-point laugh-a-minute satire or a relentlessly nihilistic trudge Try to get to the bottom of what Paul Beatty is trying to say through this novel Chat about whether the question of who something is for can really be answered authentically Suggest who should read The Sellout Reading list: The White Boy Shuffle Tuff Hokum: An Anthology of African-American Humor Slumberland The Sellout Further resources: Paul Beatty's 2016 Booker Prize acceptance speech Dear Britain, please take your Booker Prize back home by Ron Charles for The Washington Post 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

Cast your minds back to the heady days of 2015... It's early autumn and Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life is hotly-tipped to scoop the Booker Prize but the judges award that year's prize to A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James – an epic novel inspired by the true story of an attempted assassination attempt on Bob Marley. This week, Marlon James joins Jo and James on the podcast to tell us how winning the Booker Prize changed his life, his writing, and what he's working on next.In this episode Jo and James speak to Marlon about: Why Marlon didn't think he was going to win the Booker Prize How he spent his prize money The reception A Brief History of Seven Killings received in Marlon's home country, Jamaica, versus further afield Get Millie Black, the new original HBO / Channel 4 crime drama he's working on TikTok and why reading is not the same as identifying as a reader How he loves writing but hates coming up with ideas for new work The new novel he's writing Reading list: A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James Satin Island by Tom McCarthy The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara Further resources:Marlon and Jake Read Dead PeopleA 10th anniversary edition of A Brief History of Seven Killings will be published, with a new introduction, in June 2024.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

Muriel Spark was a prolific poet and novelist who was nominated for the Booker Prize three times over the course of her writing career. In 1981, Spark's Loitering with Intent was shortlisted for the prize alongside that year's eventual winner Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. The novel is a wonderfully gossipy and entertaining literary joyride which sees a would-be novelist takes inspiration from her life only to find the tables are mysteriously turned – and it's our August Book of the Month.In this episode Jo and James: Continue getting to know each other by chatting about the life event James would start his memoir with and Jo's favourite albums of all time Share a brief biography of Muriel Spark Give a slightly spoiler-y account of what happens in Loitering with Intent Discuss how much of Muriel Spark's writing may be influenced or based on her own life Consider why Muriel Spark is not as widely read now as she once was Who should read Loitering with Intent Reading list: Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark The Public Image by Muriel Spark The Ballad of Peckham Rye by Muriel Spark Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan 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

This week, we're joined by Frederick Studemann, literary editor of the FT, to bring you a Booker Prize longlist reaction hot off the press. Listen in as Fred, James and Jo share their opinions of this year's longlist as a whole, and give you a flavour of each of the 13 books that make up this year's Booker Dozen: it's speed dating meets the Booker Prize.Books discussed in this episode: A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ Old God's Time by Sebastian Barry Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney This Other Eden by Paul Harding Pearl by Siân Hughes All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow Prophet Song by Paul Lynch In Ascension by Martin MacInnes Western Lane by Chetna Maroo The Bee Sting by Paul Murray The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng 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

What exactly is “a Booker book”? Some might jump to a specific kind of high-minded, serious fiction, while others argue for a broader definition inclusive of more mainstream titles. Over the years, the pendulum has swung between the two and in 2003, DBC Pierre's debut, Vernon God Little, was awarded the prize. In this episode, we take a closer look at the novel and why it was an unexpected winner.In this episode, Jo and James talk about: Their childhood reading inspirations A brief – and slightly spoiler-y – summary of Vernon God Little The reaction to its 2003 Man Booker Prize win The author behind the novel, DBC Pierre Whether Vernon God Little stands up to reading 20 years after its release Books to read after reading Vernon God Little Books and authors discussed in this episode: Matilda by Roald Dahl Rudyard Kipling Charles Dickens Vladimir Nabokov Virginia Woolf The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry The ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy by Philip Pullman The Moomins books by Tove Jansson Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller Brick Lane by Monica Ali Schopenhauer's Telescope by Gerard Donovan Life of Pi by Yann Martel Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon In Cold Blood by Truman Capote Us by David Nicholls The Patrick Melrose novels by Edward St. Aubyn Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi Philip Larkin A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.If you've got a problem you'd like some literary help with, email us at contactus@bookerprizefoundation.org using the subject line “The Booker Clinic”.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

The sun is shining, the sea is glistening and we're heading off to Booker Island – our very own version of Love Island. This week we're pairing up fictional characters from novels in the Booker archive, so tune in to find out who's coupled up, who's getting mugged off and who's getting dumped in our quest to find the ultimate literary romantic couple.Books discussed in this episode: Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch Exit West by Mohsin Hamid Atonement by Ian McEwan The Sellout by Paul Beatty On Beauty by Zadie Smith Us by David Nicholls Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro Any Human Heart by William Boyd G by John Berger Mother's Milk by Edward St Aubyn Normal People by Sally Rooney A full transcript of the episode is available on 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

Philip Pullman’s The Amber Spyglass is the third and concluding volume of the epic His Dark Materials trilogy – and might just be the only children’s book ever nominated for The Booker Prize. The story follows the journey of Lyra – a young girl destined to bring about unfathomable change in her world and beyond. It was longlisted for The Booker Prize in 2001, alongside Ian McEwan’s Atonement, David Mitchell’s number9dream and that year’s winner, Peter Carey’s True History of the Kelly Gang.In this episode, Jo and James talk about: The animal forms their daemons would take A brief – and slightly spoiler-y – summary of what happens in The Amber Spyglass, as well as the previous books in the trilogy Whether The Amber Spyglass is really a children's book The literature that has inspired His Dark Materials Whether more children's books should be in contention for The Booker Prize The Booker Clinic: Books to rediscover the joys of reading Books discussed in this episode: Paradise Lost by John Milton Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer Swann's Way by Marcel Proust A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket The books of Agatha Christie The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier Stardust by Neil Gaiman The books of Raymond Chandler Four Bare Legs in a Bed by Helen Simpson The Patrick Melrose novels by Edward St. Aubyn A full transcript of the episode is available on our website here.If you've got a problem you'd like some literary help with, email us at contactus@bookerprizefoundation.org using the subject line “The Booker Clinic”.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

Warning: this episode contains references to suicide.The Vegetarian, an International Booker Prize winner and the first of Han Kang's books to be translated into English, explores shame, desire and our faltering attempts to understand each other. In 2016, the International Booker Prize moved from a bi-annual award recognising an author's body of work to a prize that celebrated an individual book translated into English, giving its author and translator equal billing – The Vegetarian was the first novel to win the revamped prize, and this month we're revisiting the story to explore it more deeply.In this episode Jo and James chat about: Jo and James' best and worst ever meals, spurred on by the omnipresence of food throughout The Vegetarian A slightly spoiler-y account of what happens in the novel and whether it's about Korean society and the pressures faced by women living under the patriarchy... even though the author has stressed that this isn’t the case Whether Yeong-hye, the book's protagonist, is “mad” or not The nuances of translating fiction, including the controversy that riled people up to such an extent that it was dubbed “Han Kang-gate” Who should read The Vegetarian The Booker Clinic: a segment where we recommend books in response to listeners' dilemmas. This week: books to ease your guilt if you're conducting an illicit affair Books discussed in this episode: The Vegetarian by Han Kang The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman Fingersmith by Sarah Waters The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy The Stranger by Albert Camus The Maples Stories by John Updike Heartburn by Nora Ephron Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert Further resources: ‘Raw and Cooked’ by Tim Parks for The New York Review ‘Lost in (mis)translation? English take on Korean novel has critics up in arms’ by Claire Armitstead for The Guardian ‘How the bestseller “The Vegetarian,” translated from Han Kang’s original, caused an uproar in South Korea’ by Charse Yun for the LA Times ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Translation’ by Deborah Smith for Los Angeles Review of Books Hong Sang-soo on MUBI The Handmaiden, directed by Park Chan-wook A full transcript of the conversation is available on our website here.If you've got a problem you'd like some literary help with, email us at contactus@bookerprizefoundation.org using the subject line “The Booker Clinic”.Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit https://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices