The Booker prize judges have exposed the doublethink behind our arts awards | Charlotte Higgins
Naming Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo joint winners has pulled back the curtain on what we’re told is the ‘best’
You can see the dilemma. On the one hand, there is a bestselling novel that has nailed a political moment, by a writer hailed as a prophet of our times. On the other, there is a verse novel capturing the hidden voices of black British women, by a writer who has honed her art for years outside the spotlight. To give the prize to Margaret Atwood’s would put the Booker in the centre of the cultural tide. To give it to by Bernardine
