the literary prize – – is in the sights

The Booker Prize, awarded since 1969 to the best work of fiction in the English language, “must change its name to sever its connection with slavery”. The request comes from Radio 1Xtra host Richie Brave, who revealed that his legal surname is Booker: his ancestors in the 19th century were enslaved on a cotton plantation by George and Josias Booker, the founders of the company who then originally sponsored the prestigious literary prize that is awarded every year in London. “I hope the Booker Prize starts asking questions about the name,” said Richie Brave to the London newspaper “The Guardian”. «That name was imposed on us. As an organization, you may choose to change your name to something different. Personally I wouldn’t want to keep a name associated with this.”

Organizers of the Booker Prize last Tuesday changed the wording of an article about the prize’s original sponsors and its links to slavery, after criticism was made by Brave on X (formerly Twitter). Brave pointed out that brothers George and Josias Booker were described as “handlers of nearly 200 enslaved people.” «Josias and George did not ‘manage’ my family – wrote Brave -. They enslaved them. That’s why we still have their last name. They were slavers, not ‘handlers’.” The article was later changed to say that the brothers “enslaved” nearly 200 people. Brave said he was enraged when he saw the original wording. “Do not try to sanctify the horrors of slavery,” he commented.

The article that Richie Brave did illustrated the history of the wholesale food distributor Booker McConnell, who sponsored the Booker Prize from 1968 to 2002. Josias Booker left Liverpool for Demerara, in what was then British Guiana, in 1815 to manage a plantation of cotton, called Broom Hall, where he enslaved about 200 people. Josias was later joined by his brother George. The article goes on to mention that the brothers received £2,884 from the British government upon the abolition of slavery in 1833, as compensation for 52 emancipated slaves. The Bank of England estimates that the compensation received by the brothers is equivalent to £285,836 in 2024.