As some of you may already be aware, the latest furore in the literary world is of Booker judge Carmen Callil publicly denouncing her fellow judges' decision to appoint the Booker International Award to Philip Roth. Not only denoucing but resigning her position in protest. A lioness throws herself to the wolves? Or outside-the-box PR? Well, it has got everyone talking. More media attention for the booker. More media attention for Roth. And more media attention for Callil. You couldn't have been more effective- if you'd been trying!
The whole Booker thing leaves a rather unpleasant taste in one's mouth [and no, that's no pun on some of the cruder things Callil remarked about Roth], which makes me wonder if there was always something faintly off about her departure from the start.
Now, there's nothing wong with clever promotion. Some of the perennials (hemingway, balzac) weren't afraid to exploit the media. But there are ways and means. Entered into in the right spirit it can be mutually beneficial whilst still having the audience in on the joke.
As this blog link to the New York Times attests, Hemingway had a whale of a time with this. And we loved going along for the ride. Going along, not being taken for one.
Signing Off,
(Editorial Manager)
PS the image at the top of this post isof Yaddo Writers' Community from the 1940s with some celebrated writers in attendance.
I do not know how the judges are selected for the Booker Prize, or how many nominated books they are supposed to read in a limited timescale.
However, I remember listening to a Booker Prize judge being interviewed some years ago, who openly admitted at not having read all the nominated books from cover to cover. This I found disappointing, and I hope the selection procedure has changed since then.
I hope that the judges of any award are of the highest integrity and command the utmost respect in the literary world. Otherwise you might as well scrap the awards.