Prizes

The author John Banville has revealed he 'despises the woke movement' and likened it to a religious cult.

The Irish novelist, who won the Booker Prize in 2005, said he would not win the coveted award today because he is a 'white, straight man.'

Though there were four debuts on the Booker shortlist, it's been more than a decade since a debut won. And with two magisterial novels from established writers in Maaza Mengiste's The Shadow King and Tsitsi Dangarembga's This Mournable Body on the list, first-timer Douglas Stuart's success may come as a surprise.  Read more

Two African women are in the running for the 2020 Booker Prize, in a historic first for the UK's most prestigious literary prize - and a major boost for storytellers on the continent.

The prestigious TS Eliot prize has revealed a shortlist that shows that poetry is "the most resilient, potent, capacious and universal art we have".

Critically acclaimed author Irenosen Okojie has won the AKO Caine prize for African writing, crediting her win with giving her "extra confidence" as a black, female experimental writer who has felt she was "operating on the fringes".  Read more