UPSC Essentials: One word a day – International Booker Prize
Geetanjali Shree's novel 'Tomb of Sand' is the first Hindi novel to win the International Booker Prize. UPSC-CSE aspirants must know briefly about the prize for the UPSC prelims exam.
– It was formally known as The Man Booker International Prize.
– It was established in 2005.
– The International Booker Prize is honored for finest fiction translated in English and published in the UK or Ireland.
– The Man Group continued to sponsor both prizes until 2019, when Crankstart became the funder, and the prize names reverted to the familiar ‘Booker’ name alone.
What is the Booker Prize?
Booker Prize or Man Booker Prize was formerly known as Booker McConnell Prize. It is a prestigious British award given annually for a full-length novel in English.
What are the important points to know regarding the Booker Prize?
-The award was established in 1968 by Booker McConnell, a multinational company.
– It provided a counterpart to the Prix Goncourt in France.
– Initially, it was not meant for writers around the world. Only English-language writers from the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and the Commonwealth countries were eligible.
Story continues below this ad
– It was in 2013 that it was announced that the prize would be open to English-language writers worldwide from 2014.
– Aim of the prize is to encourage the reading and discussion of contemporary fiction.
– The first woman to win the Booker Prize was Bernice Rubens, for The Elected Member (1970).
Points to ponder: What is Geetanjali Shree’s novel ‘Tomb of Sand’ all about? Who has translated it to English?
Manas Srivastava leads the UPSC Essentials section of The Indian Express (digital). He majorly writes on UPSC, other competitive exams and education-related projects. In the past, Manas has represented India at the G-20 Youth Summit in Mexico. He is a former member of the Youth Council, GOI. A two-time topper/gold medallist in History (both in graduation and post-graduation) from Delhi University, he has mentored and taught UPSC aspirants for more than five years. His diverse role in The Indian Express consists of writing, editing, anchoring/ hosting, interviewing experts, and curating and simplifying news for the benefit of students. He hosts the YouTube talk show called ‘Art and Culture with Devdutt Pattanaik’ and a LIVE series on Instagram and YouTube called ‘LIVE with Manas’.His talks on ‘How to read a newspaper’ focus on newspaper reading as an essential habit for students. His articles and videos aim at finding solutions to the general queries of students and hence he believes in being students' editor, preparing them not just for any exam but helping them to become informed citizens. This is where he makes his teaching profession meet journalism. He is also the editor of UPSC Essentials' monthly magazine for the aspirants. He is a recipient of the Dip Chand Memorial Award, the Lala Ram Mohan Prize and Prof. Papiya Ghosh Memorial Prize for academic excellence. He was also awarded the University’s Post-Graduate Scholarship for pursuing M.A. in History where he chose to specialise in Ancient India due to his keen interest in Archaeology. He has also successfully completed a Certificate course on Women’s Studies by the Women’s Studies Development Centre, DU. As a part of N.S.S in the past, Manas has worked with national and international organisations and has shown keen interest and active participation in Social Service. He has led and been a part of projects involving areas such as gender sensitisation, persons with disability, helping slum dwellers, environment, adopting our heritage programme. He has also presented a case study on ‘Psychological stress among students’ at ICSQCC- Sri Lanka. As a compere for seminars and other events he likes to keep his orating hobby alive. His interests also lie in International Relations, Governance, Social issues, Essays and poetry. ... Read More
