About this Site

Firstly, I should point out that this site is not sanctioned by anyone other than myself. I have no contact with the organisers of the prize (though if they'd like to send me the books on the longlist or shortlist each year I won't complain) and so can't hope to influence anything they do. In other words it's a labour of love, or dementia, depending on the day.

I am trying to provide as much information about the Booker prize as I can here on the one site. So you'll find details about all the shortlists and the winners. I have attempted to provide a description of each book (cover, synopsis, quotes and first paragraph), but occasionally I just can't find a copy of the book anywhere. Some of the missing items will be available on second-hand book lists but the current state of the Australian dollar makes purchasing books from overseas particularly prohibitive. Even new books in Australia - at least in hardback - are moving rapidly out of reach.

As the site progresses I hope to add further items of interest. I thought about adding a page for each author nominated, but that way madness lies. Unfortunately I've also had to reduce the number of external links I can provide - too many of them were going bust and maintaining them became a bit of a nightmare. I can only rely on the pages I produce myself. If the Booker Prize goes into that great bit-bucket in the sky you can pretty much guarantee that the rest will as well.

I hope you find the site useful. Feedback is always welcomed and I do try to get to emails as fast as I can.

Perry Middlemiss