Anna Burns has become the first Northern Irish writer to win the Man Booker Prize.
Her novel Milkman (Faber & Faber), is a book about the sexual harassment of a young woman set in Belfast during the Troubles
It was commended by the judges for its ‘distinctive voice.’
The writer was presented with the £50,000 prize at the award ceremony in London’s Guildhall this evening (October 16).
Chair of the judges Kwame Anthony Appiah said the Ardoyne writer had ‘a completely distinctive voice.’
We are delighted to announce our #ManBooker2018 winner is Milkman by Anna Burns https://t.co/ReKPbcWoM6 #FinestFiction pic.twitter.com/tW8vmF7nVj
— Man Booker Prize (@ManBookerPrize) October 16, 2018
Burns, 56, was born in Belfast and now lives in East Sussex. Prior to penning Milkman, she wrote No Bones (Flamingo) and Little Constructions (Fourth Estate), the former of which was shortlisted for the 2002 Orange Prize for Fiction.
The bookies’ favourite was 27-year-old Daisy Johnson, with her debut novel, Sophoclean melodrama Everything Under (Jonathan Cape).
Burns’ novel also beat Canadian writer Esi Edugyan’s tale of slavery and hot-air ballooning, Washington Black (Serpent’s Tail).
Milkman is the winner of the #ManBooker2018, a huge congratulations to Anna Burns ✨✨✨ pic.twitter.com/ADCcUla4Jb
— Faber & Faber (@FaberBooks) October 16, 2018
Yess!! A devastatingly important book that will now find its readers so much more easily. Brava, Anna Burns and @faberbooks @ManBookerPrize
— Lucy Caldwell (@beingvarious) October 16, 2018
Belfast-based, and brilliant. Milkman has won the @ManBookerPrize for 2018. Congratulations to author Anna Burns. https://t.co/CqBLMUgPNk
— Seamus Heaney Centre (@HeaneyCentre) October 16, 2018