Paul Lynch favourite among four Irish writers to win 2023 Booker Prize

The Carndonagh-raised writer is 5/1 with bookmaker Paddy Power to win the award for his fifth novel ‘Prophet Song’.

Mr. Lynch who was born in Limerick but lived in Carndonagh and Malin Head when he was growing up was among four Irish writers to make the 13 strong longlist when it was announced this month.

The other Irish writers nominated are Elaine Feeney for ‘How to Build a Boat’ (6/1 with Paddy Power); Sebastian Barry for ‘In God’s Time’ (7/1); and Paul Murray for ‘The Bee Sting’ (15/2).

Thirty-one per cent of the longlisted writers are Irish and Mr. Lynch is currently fourth favourite to win after Tan Twan Eng for ‘The House of Doors’ (21/10); Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow for ‘All the Little Bird-Hearts’ (11/4); and Sian Hughes for ‘Pearl’ (10/3).

The longlist of 13 books – the ‘Booker Dozen’ – was announced on August 1, 2023 with the shortlist of six books to follow on September 21. The winner of the £50,000 prize will be announced at an event at Old Billingsgate, London, on November 26, 2023.

The Booker Prize Foundation have described ‘Prophet Song’ as an ‘exhilarating, propulsive and confrontational portrait of a society on the brink’.

The 2023 judges stated: “Paul Lynch’s harrowing and dystopian Prophet Song vividly renders a mother’s determination to protect her family as Ireland’s liberal democracy slides inexorably and terrifyingly into totalitarianism.

"Readers will find it timely and unforgettable. It’s a remarkable accomplishment for a novelist to capture the social and political anxieties of our moment so compellingly.”

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