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6th July 2009

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Chinua Achebe wins Booker International

13.06.07 Anna Richardson

Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe was crowned the winner of the second Man Booker International Prize today (13th June). The prize is worth £60,000 and is awarded once every two years to a living author for a body of work. It was first awarded to Ismail Kadaré in 2005.

Achebe is best known for his first novel, Things Fall Apart (Penguin), written in 1958, and Anthills of the Savannah (also Penguin), published more than 30 years later, but his work includes more than 20 books, including novels, short stories, essays and collections of poetry.

Achebe beat an impressive list of contenders, which this year also included Margaret Atwood, John Banville, Peter Carey, Don DeLillo, Doris Lessing, Ian McEwan, Michael Ondaatje and Philip Roth.

Academic and author Elaine Showalter, who was one of the judges, said: "In Things Fall Apart and his other fiction set in Nigeria, Chinua Achebe inaugurated the modern African novel. He also illuminated the path for writers around the world seeking new words and forms for new realities and societies. We honour his literary example and achievements."

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