What is the Booker Prize?
The Booker Prize is a prestigious literary award conferred annually for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, published in the UK or Ireland. The winner receives £50,000 and international publicity, often leading to a significant sales boost. Initially limited to novels by Commonwealth, Irish, and South African citizens, the prize expanded to any English-language novel in 2014. The prize serves as a global recognition of literary excellence, with a panel of eminent judges evaluating submissions.
Apart from the Indian women author winners, two other promising ladies may not receive the title but have been shortlisted for their novels, including renowned author Anita Desai, shortlisted three times for her novels, and Avni Doshi, shortlisted in 2020. Let us know about them:
Anita Desai
Prominent Indian writer, also known for her lyrical prose, psychological depth, and exploration of personal and societal conflicts, Anita Desai was shortlisted three times for the Booker Prize, including: Clear Light of Day (1980), In Custody (1984), and Fasting, Feasting (1999). These nominations affirmed her status as a major literary voice in global fiction. With a career spanning over five decades, she has significantly influenced Indian English fiction, particularly from a woman's perspective. Her works often explore themes such as isolation, alienation, patriarchal society, tradition-modernity conflict, family relationships, and the fading beauty of art, language, and culture.
Avni Doshi
Avni Doshi, an American novelist born to Indian immigrants, is known for her debut novel, Burnt Sugar, which was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize. Born in New Jersey to Indian immigrants, she has a BA in Art History and a master's degree in History of Art. Her writings challenge sentimentality and embrace psychological realism in Indian storytelling. Burnt Sugar tells the haunting story of Antara, a woman caring for her mother, Tara, who is losing her memory. Their relationship is fraught with emotional damage. Tara was a rebellious and neglectful mother in Antara's childhood, and Antara is now torn between duty and resentment.
