By Priyanka Deshpande
CNBC-TV18.com
Published November 13, 2024
British author Samantha Harvey has won the 2024 Booker Prize for her ‘ambitious and beautiful’ Orbital, claiming the GBP 50,000 literary prize from a historic shortlist that was dominated by women this year.
But did you know Harvey nearly gave up writing Orbital because she thought she “didn’t have the authority to write this book”. Here are some things to know about the author and her work:
Orbital is the first Booker Prize-winning book set in space. The book follows six astronauts – from America, Russia, Italy, the UK and Japan – in the International Space Station over the course of 24 hours as they experience 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets.
At just 136 pages long, it is the second-shortest book to win the prize and covers the briefest time frame of any book on the shortlist.
Most of the book was written during Covid lockdowns, during which Harvey watched many hours of online footage from the International Space Station.
Harvey wrote five books before Booker winner Orbital…
The Wilderness (2009): Written from the point of view of a man developing Alzheimer’s disease.
All Is Song (2012): Examines relationship between two brothers with contradicting values and lifestyles.
Dear Thief (2014): Details the emotional fallout of a love triangle.
The Western Wind (2018): Story of a village priest who spends four days unraveling a local murder.
The Shapeless Unease (2020): An account of her experience of insomnia
Orbital was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and the Ursula K Le Guin Prize for Fiction 2024.
Harvey’s debut novel The Wilderness made the longlist for the Booker Prize in 2009.