M John Harrison, 81, wins Booker Prize for dystopian novel

M John Harrison, aged 81, has become the oldest winner of the Booker Prize for his dystopian novel The End Of Everything.

The novel, set on the near‑future Kent coast, follows a mysterious invasion of shapeshifting entities amid societal collapse. It was chosen from a shortlist of six books by a panel chaired by broadcaster Mary Beard, which also included Jarvis Cocker and poet Raymond Antrobus.

Harrison, who previously served as a Booker judge in 2022, received the £50,000 prize and a trophy presented by last year’s winner David Szalay at a ceremony in Old Billingsgate, London. The 198‑page work was the shortest entry on the shortlist.

Chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation Gaby Wood praised the book as a “realist book about a strange world”, while Beard called the decision “unanimous” and highlighted the novel’s ambition and expert writing.

The win makes Harrison the oldest recipient in the prize’s history, surpassing Margaret Atwood, who was 79 when she won in 2019. It also marks the first Booker victory for publisher Serpent’s Tail after five previous nominations.

Source: Irish Examiner. Photo: RDNE Stock project / Pexels.