In a surprise move, the 2019 Booker Prize jury announced two winners of the coveted fiction award: Canadian writer Margaret Atwood for “The Testaments” and British author Bernardine Evaristo for “Girl, Woman, Other.” Evaristo became the first Black woman to win the Booker. The Booker Prize has been jointly awarded twice before, to Nadine Gordimer and Stanley Middleton in 1974, and to Canada’s Michael Ondaatje (for “The English Patient”) and English writer Barry Unsworth in 1992. “This is a historic win as Bernardine is the first Black female winner of the Booker Prize. The Booker Prize, which was previously restricted to British, Irish and Commonwealth authors, was first awarded in 1969. Correction (Oct. 14): This article has been updated from a previous version that misstated the year when “Alias Grace” was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

Source: thestar October 14, 2019 21:11 UTC