The Best of the Booker is a special prize awarded in commemoration of the Booker Prize's 40th anniversary. Eligible books included the 41[A] winners of the Booker Prize since its inception in 1968.[1] The six shortlisted titles were announced on 12 May 2008 and were chosen by novelist Victoria Glendinning, broadcaster Mariella Frostrup and Professor of English at University College London John Mullan.[2] Among the nominees were the only two authors at that time to have won the Booker twice, Peter Carey and J. M. Coetzee, nominated for their novels Oscar & Lucinda (1988) and Disgrace (1999) respectively.[2]
The winner, as chosen by a public vote, was Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, and was announced on July 10 at the London Literature Festival.[3] Midnight's Children not only won the 1981 Booker, but also the special 1993 Booker of Bookers prize, which commemorated the award's 25th anniversary.[1]
The shortlisted titles were: