New Zealand Author Eleanor Catton Wins the 2013 Man Booker Prize

Posted on October 15, 2013

New Zealand author Eleanor Catton has won the 2013 Man Booker Prize for her novel, The Luminaries. She had some stiff competition. The shortlist included Colm Toibin's The Testament of Mary, NoViolet Bulwayo's We Need New Names, Jim Crace's Harvest, Jhumpa Lahiri's The Lowland and Ruth Ozeki's A Tale for the Time Being.

Catton is the youngest winner of the award. She is only 28 years old. She accepted the 50,000 pound prize at a ceremony at London's Guildhall. The Luminaries is published by Little, Brown in the U.S. and goes on sale today. Beginning next year, the prize will also be open to American authors, which will make the competition even tougher.