Posted on 12/04/2019 at 10:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
The dual Booker Prize continues to make waves in the media world.
This time, it’s because of a BBC broadcaster who identified one author by name and not the other.
Shaun Ley was discussing the Turner Prize, whose four finalists decided to split the award amongst themselves.
The BBC, in a statement, said the following comment in which Ley failed to say Bernardine Evaristo’s name was unscripted:
"Now, this is a bit different from the Booker Prize earlier in the year where the judges couldn't make up their minds, so they gave it to Margaret Atwood and another author, who shared the prize between them."
This is Book Love, a group promoting awareness of multicultural art, and Evaristo both took to Twitter, citing Ley’s omission as underscoring the challenges that diverse voices face.
@BBCNews "Booker Prize was shared between Margaret Atwood& "ANOTHER AUTHOR". FFS @BBCNews u cud NOT BE BOTHERED to say who "The Author is" She has a name-its @BernardineEvari Not ANOTHER AUTHOR! @sunnysingh_n6 it's still happening, she's become the"other Author".Not good enough! pic.twitter.com/zOzPz0HUZi
— Booklove Multicultural Travelling Book Carnival (@thisisbooklove) December 3, 2019
Pls RT: The @BBC described me yesterday as 'another author' apropos @TheBookerPrizes 2019. How quickly & casually they have removed my name from history - the first black woman to win it. This is what we've always been up against, folks. https://t.co/LxxDBJrUYh
— Bernardine Evaristo (@BernardineEvari) December 4, 2019
The BBC has apologized for the gaffe.
Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other and Atwood's The Testaments were the first joint winners of the Booker Prize since 1992, after which year the rules were changed to explicitly forbid sharing or withholding the prize.
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Categories: Today in Books