Jamaican author wins 2015 Man Booker prize

© Larry D. Moore CC BY-SA 4.0

Marlon James.

MARLON JAMES, a Jamaican author, has won the Man Booker prize and £50,000 (€70,000) for his 680-page book ‘A Brief History of Seven Killings’ inspired by the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in the 1970s, it was announced at the Guildhall, London, on the evening of October 13.

This is his third book and covers a period of extreme political instability in Jamaica at a time when two major politicians were fighting head to head, the CIA were taking an unhealthy interest in Jamaica and gangs were travelling to the USA to become involved in major drug distribution.

The American cable channel HBO has already optioned screen rights to the book and indicated that award-winning screenwriter Eric Roth would be writing the script for a series based on the novel.

In addition to this latest honour, the book had previously won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in the USA. This is James’s third book and apparently when first looking for a publisher received 70 rejections before finally being accepted, which must give hope to all aspiring writers.

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