It was good to be a Paul at the Booker Prize ceremony last night. Three of the six authors shortlisted for the prize share the name, and it was lost on no one that there were more Pauls than women on the list. But their common name, The Londoner was assured “every Paul is very different” by judge Mary Jean Chan. “Paul schmaul,” said fellow judge Adjoa Andoh, adding that the shortlist was “varied” and “refreshing”.
But shortlistee Jonathan Escoffery was all too aware that he was against Paul odds. “I’m the token Jonathan,” he joked, before confessing that his dad is called Paul, and “had I only been a Paul Junior, this could have been a full house!”
