Samantha Harvey’s Orbital Wins 2024 Booker Prize

Orbital, a poignant tale set aboard the International Space Station, has been awarded the 2024 Booker Prize. The announcement was made on Tuesday evening, with British author Samantha Harvey becoming the first woman in five years to take home the £50,000 prize.

What Is the Booker Prize?

The Booker Prize is widely regarded as the UK’s most prestigious award for fiction, celebrating outstanding novels written in English and published in the UK or Ireland. Established in 1969, the prize has evolved over the years to include authors of any nationality, provided their work is originally written in English.

The prize not only comes with a £50,000 award but also guarantees significant attention and increased book sales for its winners.

A Tale of Astronauts and Humanity

Orbital, which spans just 136 pages, explores the lives of six fictional astronauts over a single day on the ISS, experiencing 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets. Described by the judging panel as “beautiful and ambitious,” the novel reflects on Earth, beauty, and human aspirations.

Booker chair Edmund de Waal praised the book’s lyrical style and profound resonance:

“Our unanimity about Orbital recognises its beauty and ambition. It reflects Harvey’s extraordinary intensity of attention to the precious and precarious world we share.”

In her acceptance speech, Harvey humorously noted, “I was not expecting that… We were told that we weren’t allowed to swear in our speech, so there goes my speech. It was just one swear word 150 times.” She went on to dedicate the win to those who speak for peace, dignity, and the planet.

A Journey from Doubt to Acclaim

Harvey admitted she nearly abandoned writing Orbital, doubting whether her perspective could do justice to the vastness of space. However, astronaut Tim Peake, who read the book, praised its authenticity, even inquiring about her sources.

Since its release in November 2023, Orbital has sold 29,000 copies in the UK, making it the highest-selling title on the six-book shortlist. Critics, including The Guardian, have lauded it as “a finely crafted meditation on the Earth, beauty and human aspiration.”

Breaking Records and Barriers

This year marked several milestones for the Booker Prize. With five women shortlisted, it was the first time in its 55-year history that women dominated the final list. The panel unanimously chose Orbital after deliberating on 156 eligible books, all read in full, according to De Waal.

Orbital also made history as the second-shortest book ever to win the prize, following Penelope Fitzgerald’s Offshore in 1979. Asked whether this reflects a preference for shorter books, De Waal clarified: “Absolutely not. It’s the right length of book for what it’s trying to achieve.”

A Celebrated Career

Harvey is no stranger to the Booker spotlight, having been longlisted in 2009 for her debut novel The Wilderness. Orbital is her fifth novel, following All Is Song, Dear Thief, and The Western Wind. She also authored a memoir, The Shapeless Unease, about her struggles with insomnia.

The Judges’ Final Word

Judges Sara Collins, Yiyun Li, Justine Jordan, and Nitin Sawhney joined De Waal in the selection process. De Waal summed up their decision:

“Orbital is our book. Everyone and no one is the subject, as six astronauts in the International Space Station circle the Earth observing the passages of weather across the fragility of borders and time zones. With her language of lyricism and acuity, Harvey makes our world strange and new for us.”