Three Irish authors have made this year’s Man Booker prize longlist, but does getting nominated for a literary prize guarantee a longer shelf life for your novel?
THE LITERARY hoopla that is the annual Man Booker Prize started this week, with the announcement from London of the "Booker Dozen" longlisted books. This year, the Booker Dozen – still a baker's dozen of 13, so no cutbacks there – has an Irish trio. Between them, William Trevor and Colm Tóibín have been on the shortlist six times, but for first-time novelist Ed O'Loughlin with his book, Not Untrue & Not Unkind, it's already a prize just to get on the longlist, such is the guaranteed attendant publicity.
There are a lot of literary prizes out there and, in recent years, both the Impac and Booker have been long-listing titles prior to announcing their shortlists. Does this drawn-out publicity circus affect the credibility of the prizes with readers? Do lists and prizes even matter, or do readers and book-buyers simply get jaded by the number of longlists, shortlists, and prizes that try to grab for their attention in a bewilderingly crowded market?
It's Thursday, two days after the longlist has been announced and at Eason on O'Connell Street, Kate Walsh, who is here on holiday from New Zealand, has a newspaper clipping of the longlisted authors in her bag, and books by two of its Irish writers in her hand. The William Trevor novel Love and Summer, which she is also vainly trying to find, is not yet published. She came into the shop especially to look for the longlisted Irish writers, as she wants to bring their books home with her as gifts for friends. "The list is a filter," she says. "I respect the books my friends recommend too, but if the Booker panel recommend it, then you'd have to think the books are good, and I would be influenced by it, yes."
Florence Linehan now lives in Asten, in the Netherlands, and is stocking up with books by several Irish writers to bring back with her, including those on the longlist she hasn't read. She's already read Tóibín's Brooklyn– "not his best" – and is searching for O'Loughlin's and Trevor's books. Linehan always pays attention to what's on the long and shortlists. "The Booker is a guide for people like me who don't have time to sit down and read everything there is and think about all the new books. It does mean something, and the Booker winner definitely has a value. One, you know you're going to be reading literature as opposed to popular fiction. Two, it's a book for your bookshelves, a book you're going to keep."
"I think the Booker lists are more valuable for the writers who make it onto the list than for the readers. It shoots the writers to fame and gives them better chances," offers Vera Kerrigan, who now lives in Brussels. Kerrigan doesn't look to lists as a guide as to what she might like to read. "I'd be much more interested in what the critics have to say." She's read Brooklyn, but wasn't much impressed. "It's not as good as his other books, very lightweight, I thought. I've never heard of Ed O'Loughlin, but I'd definitely have a look-out for his book now."
At Reads on Nassau Street, Eamon Geoghegan has a copy of O’Loughlin’s book in his hand and is looking through it. “I’d never heard of him before this week, but the fact he’s on the longlist singles him out for me. I’d consider buying his book now. The Booker definitely promotes books. I often wonder if they select the right books – it seems to be very political and controversial every year – but all the same, the list always draws my attention.”
AT DUBRAY BOOKS on Grafton Street, Sarah McGrath admits that she always takes note of the Booker lists, particularly of any Irish writers on it. “I’m a William Trevor fan already, but I know nothing about Ed O’Loughlin, so I’m curious now to look at his book.” About the value of the Booker lists to her as a reader, she says, “If I was buying a book for someone as a present, and I wasn’t sure of their taste, the fact that a book was on the Booker list would sway my choice and I would buy it. The list is a way of introducing new writers – especially first-time novelists – to people who wouldn’t have heard of them before, but now they might take a chance on them, just because they’re on the list.”
At Waterstone's, Aidan is not keen to give his surname, but he's happy to talk. He always looks out for Irish writers on the Booker list, and reads all of those books whenever they're listed, but doesn't bother with non-Irish writers. "It's a matter of pride, isn't it?" He has already read Brooklyn, and bought Not Untrue & Not Unkindthe day the longlist was announced. "I'd seen it around, and then when I heard it was on the list, I decided to get it." He considers that if a writer has made it onto a Booker list, that it's "a seal of recognition of their work, and gives their name value".
Liz Walsh says that she always buys the book that wins the Booker – even though she may not always actually read it – and that she looks at the lists carefully. “I keep reviews, and I’d certainly be influenced by what I read on a Booker list,” she says. To her, the lists save time in searching for books she wants to read. “It’s a filter. There are so many books, the bookshops are now so big, and there are so few people to help you there.”
All three of the Irish writers on the longlist are published by Penguin, with Ed O’Loughlin’s novel originating from Penguin Ireland, where it was edited by Brendan Barrington. Michael O’Loughlin (no relation of the writer), managing director of Penguin Ireland, confirms delightedly that their phones in Dublin have not stopped ringing since Tuesday, when the longlist was announced. “The Booker longlist is a calling-card for a novelist in every country in the world that reads fiction, and not just in the English language. We’ve had people this week interested in translation rights as a result of Ed’s nomination.” O’Loughlin believes that the public definitely get engaged with the Booker lists every year, and that part of the reason the Booker generates a special excitement is because of its long history.
Not all readers get excited by the Booker lists. For Marie Bannister, browsing in the New Fiction section in Eason, not only do lists not mean anything to her, but neither do the names of certain writers. She reads by genre.
“I read a lot of mysteries and I like a good love story,” she confides. She has no interest at all in the Booker list. “I pick out my books at random,” she explains. “I choose them by what they say on the back cover, and I like them to be small enough to fit into my bag.” Does she read any Irish writers? “I don’t usually, but I have a go at a Maeve Binchy the odd time.”