It's been announced today that all novels written in English will be eligible to win the Man Booker Prize, currently only authors from the commonwealth, Ireland or Zimbabwe are considered. There has been some controversy over this decision, as it may be difficult to decide on which books are nominated.
Personally I think it's a good thing, by opening up the entry requirements it ensures that the prize remains relevant and the winner is of the highest caliber. By not allowing countries such as America to compete, it send the message that the organisers are threatened by US talent. There was a suggestion that a parallel US only prize would be introduced, but I'm really glad that they scrapped that idea.
According to the BBC website Hillary Mantel sold 1,846 copies of Bring up the Bodies in the UK a week before the Man Booker Prize was announced, and sold 10,605 copies the week after her win. Clearly the prize has a lot of influence, so I think writers from all over the world deserve the same opportunity.
What do you think? Should the Man Booker Prize go global?
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