Booker Prize

Booker Prize-winning author Samantha Harvey has revealed how she nearly "lost her nerve" when writing her novel Orbital, over fears no-one would want a read a book by "a woman who had never been to space".

You only have to look at the extent of the global reach of the winner the day after to see what a big deal the prize has become internationally. Coverage from right round the world, all the big American media outlets, but also from across the Continent, the Far East, the southern hemisphere, the Middle East.

The remarkable thing about this violence-soaked novel narrated by a dead man is how full of life it is. Shehan Karunatilaka's The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida comes a decade after his rollicking debut Chinaman, which combined the love of cricket with the horror of Sri Lanka's civil war.  Read more

This year's key prizes have gone to writers from Africa and the diaspora. Damon Galgut, Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, Abdulrazak Gurnah and others explain what winning means to them

Its knack for creating tension and controversy has helped it remain an energising force in publishing for more than 50 years - but how do writers, publishers and judges cope with the annual agony of the Booker?