Book clubs across the UK are being invited to take part in the inaugural Booker prize book club challenge, with seats at the prize ceremony dinner up for grabs.
Six book clubs will be chosen for the challenge by this year’s judging panel, which is chaired by cultural historian Neil MacGregor. MacGregor and his fellow judges – broadcaster Shahidha Bari, historian Helen Castor, author and literary critic M John Harrison and novelist Alain Mabanckou – will be looking for the “most interesting, passionate and wide-ranging set of readers possible”.
Representatives from all six book clubs will be given an all-expenses-paid trip to the shortlist party at the Serpentine Gallery in London in September. They will also receive copies of one of the shortlisted books to read with the other members of their book club.
In the run-up to the winner announcement in October, the judges will read and assess all six book clubs’ social media activity relating to their assigned books. The winning book club will be the one the judges deem has “provided the most original and engaging reviews”.
Two members of the winning book club will be invited to attend the prize ceremony and dinner at the Roundhouse in London.
Gaby Wood, director of the Booker Prize Foundation, said that while it was “essential that the judges’ deliberations remain confidential”, the organisation had always “wanted to find a way to share the liveliness and excitement of judging meetings with the general public”.
The book club challenge will allow readers across the country to “feel some of that drama”, said Wood. “Though they won’t be comparing one book against the others, they’ll each be reading one book closely – which is something the judges do too. By the time the judges decide on a winner, they will have read those six books three times. So to have book clubs read alongside them will be as close to companionship as secret decision-making can get.”
Book clubs from across the UK can now apply for the challenge via the Reading Agency’s Reading Groups for Everyone website, where they will be asked to explain what makes their group special, and why they would like to take part. The deadline for applications is 12 August.
The 2022 Booker prize longlist will be revealed on 26 July. The shortlist of six books will be announced on 6 September, and the winner on 17 October. The 2021 prize was won by South African writer Damon Galgut for his novel The Promise.
