Exclusive Books 2009 Boeke Prize shortlist

The search for this year’s Boeke Prize winner is on, and on 6 October the winning novel from these six books will be announced: Testimony by Anita Shreve (Penguin R123), The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Penguin R204), The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Jonathan Ball R244), People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (Jonathan Ball R128), The Children’s Book by A.S Byatt (Random House Struik R219) and The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen (Random House Struik R219).

According to Jaco Nel, General Manager: Marketing and CRM of Exclusive Books, the winner should be the most unputdownable of them all. ‘What we are looking for is that book that everyone is talking about. The formula for fabulous fiction certainly includes quality writing, a riveting storyline and memorable characters, but often it is some elusive “magic” that makes a book into the Boeke Prize book-of-the-year.’

Exclusive Books has been running this award since 1995, as a light-hearted dig at the British Booker Prize. The contenders are the best English fiction published in the preceding year. Publishers nominate their choice of books, then the Exclusive Books booksellers take the list down to six, and finally book critics and book buyers vote for their favourite.