‘It’s the Olympics, not the Commonwealth’: Booker prize defends US dominance

The Booker prize is the Olympic Games not the Commonwealth Games, organisers said, as they defended the inclusion of American authors who this year continued their dominance of the shortlist.

Percival Everett and Rachel Kushner’s shortlisting this year means that since Americans were first allowed to enter a decade ago, they have accounted for 26 out of the total 66 places on the shortlists.

There have been fears that broadening the criteria for the prize, which previously was restricted to UK, Commonwealth and Irish writers, has meant a lower profile for authors from Asia and Africa in particular. Critics have also pointed out that the big American literary prizes are reserved solely for Americans.

Gaby Wood, the chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, said,