In a shock move, last night Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo were announced as the joint winners of the Booker Prize 2019 at a ceremony at Guildhall in London. The pair will share the £50,000 prize money after the judges 'broke the rules' to award the prize to both authors.
The Booker has been awarded to two authors twice before, in 1974 and 1992, but in 1993 the rules were amended to allow only one winner. Literary director Gaby Wood said that the decision was 'definitively against the rules' but that the panel had chosen to 'flout them'. Peter Florence, chair of the judges, said they were 'Two novels we cannot compromise on', and added that, 'They are both phenomenal books that will delight readers and will resonate for ages to come.' Wood added that the judges left the judging room 'happy and proud'.