Jamaican author Marlon James wins Man Booker Prize 2015

 

Jamaican author Marlon James won the prestigious 2015 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for his book A Brief History of Seven Killings. James made literary history, as he became the first Jamaican author to win the title held at London's Guildhall last night.

James' winning work, his third novel, is inspired by the real life attempted assassination of Bob Marley in the 1970s and explores Jamaican politics through the lens of reggae music.

"This is so surreal. I feel like I may wake up tomorrow and find all this was a dream," said the 44-year-old, now based in Minneapolis.

This is the first Man Booker Prize winner for independent publisher, Oneworld Publications.

The Jamaican author beat five international authors, including Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Tyler, for A Spool of Blue Thread and Hawaiian writer Hanya Yanagihara for A Little Life. Other front-runners included Sunjeev Sahota's The Year of the Runaways, Tom McCarthy's Satin Island and The Fishermen, by Nigeria's Chigozie Obioma.

The shortlisted authors each receive 2,500 Pounds and a specially-bound edition of their book. The winner receives a further cheque for 50,000 Pounds.

Australian author Richard Flanagan won last year's prize for his wartime novel 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North'. First awarded in 1969, the Man Booker is recognised as the leading award for high quality literary fiction written in English.