Samantha Harvey Space based book ‘Orbital’ wins Booker Prize 2024

Orbital, a story set in space, won the prestigious literary prize, Booker prize 2024, for the British author Samantha Harvey.  It is the first Booker prize for Samantha Harvey and first since 2019 to be won by a female author.

The winner of the Booker Prize 2024 was announced at a ceremony in London, England, on 12 November 2024. At the function, Samantha Harvey was awarded the Booker Prize trophy and £ 50,000 in prize money.

The Prophet Song of Paul Lynch won the 2023 Booker  Prize

About the Novel Orbital 

The novel Orbital was written by Samantha Harvey during the lockdown imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The story describes a single day in the life of the six astronauts on board a space station orbiting the Earth. During the 24 hours, they observe 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets across the globe. 

The 136-page story is the second shortest book to win the Booker Prize. The shortest novel to win the prize was Penelope Fitzgerald’s 132 pages Offshore, published in 1979.

Previously, Samantha’s first novel, The Wilderness, was shortlisted for the prize in 2009.

Samantha Harvey's other works include The Western Wind, Dear Thief, The Shapeless Unease: A Year of Not Sleeping, The Wilderness, and All is Song.

Shortlisted Books for the 2024 Booker Prize  

Six books, including Offshore, were shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize.

The other five nominees were:

The other nominees were:

• James -written by American  Percival Everett 
• Creation Lake- written by  Rachel Kushner of the United States of America)
• Held- written by Anne Michaels  of Canada
• The Safekeep - written by Yael van der Wouden of the Netherlands
• Stone Yard Devotion - written by Charlotte Wood Of Australia 

About the Booker Prize 

• The Booker Prize, established in 1968, is considered to be one of the most prestigious literary prizes in English literature.
• Since 1969, a novel published in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland has been considered for the prize every year.
• P H Newby’s "Something to Answer For” won the first Booker Prize in 1969.".

Indian winner of the Booker Prize 

So far, three Indian authors have won the Booker Prize.

• Arundhati Roy in 1997 for The God of Small Things.
•  Kiran Desai in 2006 for"The Inheritance of Loss".
• Aravind Adiga in 2008 for “The White Tiger.”

International Booker Prize 

• Since 2004, the Booker Prize Foundation has also awarded the International Booker Prize.
• Books written in non-English languages, translated into English, and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland are considered for the award.
• It was awarded biennially, and since 2016, it has been awarded annually 

The only Indian to win the award is Geetanjali Shree. She won the 2022 award for her Hindi novel 'Tomb of Sand' (रेत समाधि).