Man Booker Prize 2016: Paul Beatty First American To Win For ‘The Sellout’

American author Paul Beatty won the prestigious Man Booker Prize 2016 for his novel “The Sellout.” He is also the first non-British writer to receive to the prize of £50,000. Up until three years ago, the Prize only considered British authors.

According to The Guardian, the rule change allowed writers like Paul Beatty to join. Since then, the Man Booker Prize considered books written in English and published in the United Kingdom. 

“The Sellout:” The Novel That Was Almost Not Published

The Guardian reported an interesting back-story about the novel. Beatty revealed that over 18 UK publishers turned him down. He called his novel “a hard sell” among publishers. Until an independent publisher, Oneworld, bravely decided to take it on. Incidentally, Oneworld also published the book that won the 2015 Man Booker Prize winner, “A History of Seven Killings” by Marlon James.

A Satire About Race

When asked why he thought his book was rejected so many times, he said that the novel may be “too harsh, too unconventional, too unfamiliar” and “too black.” 

Most reviews classify it as a satire. The book transports the reader into a world where the protagonist wants to revive segregation in schools. He also wants to revive slavery. The protagonist does all of these to bring back his town after being wiped out of the map for some unknown reason.

In a BBC report, Amanda Foreman who is chair of the judges for this year’s prize called the winning novel “a novel of our times,” and one that “nails the reader to the cross with cheerful abandon.” She also likened Beatty’s “savage wit” to that of Jonathan Swift and Mark Twain.

Paul Beatty After The Win

During his acceptance speech, Beatty took a moment to compose himself before he acknowledged the “long journey” that he took with this novel. Towards the end of his speech, he also said that writing has “given him a life.”

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