The Booker Prize Foundation is a registered charity whose mission is to inspire people to read the world’s best fiction, driven by a simple belief: that great fiction not only brings joy to millions but has the power to change the way we think about the world we live in. The best-known way the Foundation fulfils its mission is by awarding the Booker Prize and the International Booker Prize on an annual basis.
The Booker Prizes have a unique place in the literary sphere, enjoying an enviable reputation as a cultural institution that is highly respected, much loved and hotly debated throughout the world. Over the past 50 years, more than 500 extraordinary books have been brought to the attention of the public, influencing reading tastes and transforming culture in Britain and beyond, along with the careers of hundreds of authors from around the world.
The Booker Prize is awarded to the best work of long-form quality fiction, written in English and published in the UK or Ireland in its prize year, irrespective of the nationality or country of citizenship of the author. The International Booker Prize recognises the best fiction of the year written in another language and translated into English, also published in the UK or Ireland in its prize year.
Other aspects of the Foundation’s work include reading initiatives in prisons, writers’ visits to universities, the distribution of books to disadvantaged readers and the funding of Braille and audio editions of Booker Prize books through the RNIB. The UEA Booker Prize Foundation Scholarship is awarded annually to a candidate for the Creative Writing MA at the University of East Anglia. Many past scholars have since met with acclaim as published authors.
In 2021, the Booker Prize Foundation launched a new strategy to extend its reach beyond the two prize seasons by becoming a more ambitious digital content publisher. Its digital strategy involves publishing original features, interviews, essays, reading lists and videos to encourage readers all over the world to explore the hundreds of longlisted, shortlisted and winning titles in the ‘Booker Library’. The Booker Prizes’ digital portfolio includes a website, thebookerprizes.com, social media activity on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, a YouTube channel and regular newsletters.