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International Booker Prize

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A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author .

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88-886: The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize ) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom . The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize , as the Booker Prize was then known, was announced in June 2004. Sponsored by the Man Group , from 2005 until 2015 the award was given every two years to a living author of any nationality for

176-481: A body of work published in English or generally available in English translation. It rewarded one author's "continued creativity, development and overall contribution to fiction on the world stage", and was a recognition of the writer's body of work rather than any one title. Since 2016, the award has been given annually to a single work of fiction or collection of short stories, translated into English and published in

264-483: A combined capacity of 1,695 seats. Hybrid buses began to be used in Oxford in 2010, and their usage has been expanded. In 2014 Oxford Bus introduced a fleet of 20 new buses with flywheel energy storage on the services it operates under contract for Oxford Brookes University . Most buses in the city now use a smartcard to pay for journeys and have free WiFi installed. The Oxford to London coach route offers

352-399: A corresponding award ceremony . Many awards are structured with one organization (usually a non-profit organization) as the presenter and public face of the award, and another organization as the financial sponsor or backer, who pays the prize remuneration and the cost of the ceremony and public relations, typically a corporate sponsor who may sometimes attach their name to the award (such as

440-693: A frequent coach service to London. The Oxford Tube is operated by Stagecoach West and the Oxford Bus Company runs the Airline services to Heathrow and Gatwick airports. There is a bus station at Gloucester Green , used mainly by the London and airport buses, National Express coaches and other long-distance buses including route X5 to Milton Keynes and Bedford and Stagecoach Gold route S6. Among cities in England and Wales, Oxford has

528-546: A mistake. In November 2022, Mogford announced that his hospitality group The Oxford Collection had joined up with Oxford Business Action Group (OBAG), Oxford High Street Association (OHSA), ROX (Backing Oxford Business), Reconnecting Oxford, Jericho Traders, and Summertown traders to launch a legal challenge to the new bus gates. The city is served by the M40 motorway , which connects London to Birmingham . The M40 approached Oxford in 1974, leading from London to Waterstock , where

616-494: A new company, Morrells of Oxford. The new owners sold most of the pubs on to Greene King in 2002. The Lion Brewery was converted into luxury apartments in 2002. Oxford's first legal distillery , the Oxford Artisan Distillery , was established in 2017 in historic farm buildings at the top of South Park . The Taylor family of Loughborough had a bell-foundry in Oxford between 1786 and 1854. This

704-412: A pristine Stradivarius violin, regarded by some as one of the finest examples in existence. The University Museum of Natural History holds the university's zoological , entomological and geological specimens. It is housed in a large neo-Gothic building on Parks Road , in the university's Science Area . Among its collection are the skeletons of a Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops , and

792-517: A short video instead. After Roth was announced as the winner, Carmen Callil withdrew from the judging panel, saying "I don't rate him as a writer at all... in 20 years' time will anyone read him?" Callil later wrote an editorial in The Guardian explaining her position and why she chose to leave the panel. The 2013 prize was judged by Christopher Ricks (Chair), Elif Batuman , Aminatta Forna , Yiyun Li and Tim Parks . The nominees for

880-569: A shortlist of six in April, with the winner announced in May. The inaugural Man Booker International Prize was judged by John Carey (Chair), Alberto Manguel and Azar Nafisi . The nominees were announced on 2 June 2005 at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Albanian novelist Ismail Kadare was named the inaugural International Prize winner in 2005. Head judge, Professor John Carey said Kadare

968-463: A third route, also to Paddington, running via Thame , High Wycombe and Maidenhead , was provided; this was shortened in 1906 by the opening of a direct route between High Wycombe and London Paddington by way of Denham . The distance from Oxford to London was 78 miles (125.5 km) via Bletchley; 63.5 miles (102.2 km) via Didcot and Reading; 63.25 miles (101.8 km) via Thame and Maidenhead; and 55.75 miles (89.7 km) via Denham. Only

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1056-459: Is "a universal writer in the tradition of storytelling that goes back to Homer." Kadare said he was "deeply honoured" at being awarded the prize. Kadare was also able to select a translator to receive an additional prize of £15,000. The writer received his award in Edinburgh on 27 June. The 2007 prize was judged by Elaine Showalter , Nadine Gordimer and Colm Tóibín . The nominees for

1144-500: Is 2014, with an average of 11.8 °C (53 °F) and the coldest is 1879, with a mean temperature of 7.7 °C (46 °F). The sunniest month on record is May 2020, with 331.7 hours and December 1890 is the least sunny, with 5.0 hours. The greatest one-day rainfall occurred on 10 July 1968, with a total of 87.9 mm (3.46 in). The greatest known snow depth was 61.0 cm (24.0 in) in February 1888. The city centre

1232-596: Is a cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire , England, of which it is the county town. Founded in the 8th century, it was granted city status in 1542. The city is located at the confluence of the rivers Thames (locally known as the Isis ) and Cherwell . It had a population of 163,257 in 2022. It is 56 miles (90 km) north-west of London , 64 miles (103 km) south-east of Birmingham and 61 miles (98 km) north-east of Bristol . The city

1320-477: Is a small selection of the many notable buildings in Oxford. Oxford is a very green city, with several parks and nature walks within the ring road , as well as several sites just outside the ring road. In total, 28 nature reserves exist within or just outside the ring road, including: In addition to the larger airports in the region, Oxford is served by nearby Oxford Airport , in Kidlington . The airport

1408-706: Is also home to CAE Oxford Aviation Academy and Airways Aviation airline pilot flight training centres, and several private jet companies. The airport is also home to Airbus Helicopters UK headquarters. Direct trains run from Oxford station to London Paddington where there is an interchange with the Heathrow Express train links serving Heathrow Airport . Passengers can change at Reading for connecting trains to Gatwick Airport . Some CrossCountry trains run direct services to Birmingham International , as well as to Southampton Airport Parkway further afield. Bus services in Oxford and its suburbs are run by

1496-634: Is home to the University of Oxford , the oldest university in the English-speaking world ; it has buildings in every style of English architecture since late Anglo-Saxon . Oxford's industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing, science, and information technologies. The history of Oxford in England dates back to its original settlement in the Saxon period . Originally of strategic significance due to its controlling location on

1584-466: Is just outside the city, at the park and ride site near Kidlington . The present railway station opened in 1852. Oxford is the junction for a short branch line to Bicester , a remnant of the former Varsity line to Cambridge . This Oxford–Bicester line was upgraded to 100 mph (161 km/h) running during an 18-month closure in 2014/2015 – and is scheduled to be extended to form the planned East West Rail line to Milton Keynes. East West Rail

1672-553: Is now strongly discouraged, and largely prevented, from using the city centre. The Oxford Ring Road or A4142 (southern part) surrounds the city centre and close suburbs Marston , Iffley , Cowley and Headington ; it consists of the A34 to the west, a 330-yard section of the A44 , the A40 north and north-east, A4142/ A423 to the east. It is a dual carriageway , except for a 330-yard section of

1760-518: Is practically perfect. Any writer has to gawk when reading her because her work is very subtle and precise. Her thoughtfulness about every subject is so concentrated." Munro, who said she was "totally amazed and delighted" at her win, received the award at Trinity College Dublin on 25 June. The 2011 prize was judged by Rick Gekoski (Chair), Carmen Callil (withdrew in protest over choice of winner) and Justin Cartwright . The nominees for

1848-508: Is proposed to continue through Bletchley (for Milton Keynes Central ) to Bedford , Cambridge, and ultimately Ipswich and Norwich , thus providing alternative route to East Anglia without needing to travel via, and connect between, the London mainline terminals. Chiltern Railways operates from Oxford to London Marylebone via Bicester Village , having sponsored the building of about 400 metres of new track between Bicester Village and

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1936-519: Is relatively small and is centred on Carfax , a crossroads which forms the junction of Cornmarket Street (pedestrianised), Queen Street (mainly pedestrianised ), St Aldate's and the High Street ("the High"; blocked for through traffic). Cornmarket Street and Queen Street are home to Oxford's chain stores, as well as a small number of independent retailers, one of the longest established of which

2024-405: Is shown in bold text. The nominees for the seventh Man Booker International Prize were announced on 14 April 2016. The six nominees were chosen from a longlist of thirteen. Han became the first Korean author to win the prize and, under the new format for 2016, Smith became the first translator to share the prize. British journalist Boyd Tonkin , who chaired the judging panel, said that the decision

2112-558: Is vigilance to her stories, and great imaginative attention. Vigilance as how to realise things down to the very word or syllable; vigilance as to everybody's impure motives and illusions of feeling." The 2015 prize was judged by Marina Warner (Chair), Nadeem Aslam , Elleke Boehmer , Edwin Frank and Wen-chin Ouyang . The nominees for the sixth Man Booker International Prize were announced on 24 March 2015. László Krasznahorkai became

2200-586: The Bookseller /Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year , and the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction and Lyttle Lytton Contests , given to deliberately bad grammar There are also literary awards targeted specifically to encourage the writing from African American origin and authors of African descent. Two of these awards are Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence , which was established in 2007 by

2288-740: The Baton Rouge Area Foundation , and Hurston/Wright Legacy Award , which is a given by the National Community of Black Writers. Australian author Richard Flanagan wrote a critique of literary awards, saying "National prizes are often a barometer of bourgeois bad taste." He says juries can be influenced by vendettas, paybacks and payoffs, "most judges are fair-minded people. But hate, conceit and jealousy are no less human attributes than wisdom, judgment and knowledge." Book prizes will sometimes compete with one another, and these goals do not always coincide with anointing

2376-1093: The Castle Mill Stream . The rapid expansion of Oxford and the development of its railway links after the 1840s facilitated expansion of the brewing trade. As well as expanding the market for Oxford's brewers, railways enabled brewers further from the city to compete for a share of its market. By 1874 there were nine breweries in Oxford and 13 brewers' agents in Oxford shipping beer in from elsewhere. The nine breweries were: Flowers & Co in Cowley Road , Hall's St Giles Brewery, Hall's Swan Brewery (see below), Hanley's City Brewery in Queen Street , Le Mills's Brewery in St. Ebbes , Morrell's Lion Brewery in St Thomas Street (see below), Simonds's Brewery in Queen Street, Weaving's Eagle Brewery (by 1869

2464-557: The Chiltern Main Line southwards in 2014. The route serves High Wycombe and London Marylebone, avoiding London Paddington and Didcot Parkway . In 1844, the Great Western Railway linked Oxford with London Paddington via Didcot and Reading ; in 1851, the London & North Western Railway opened its own route from Oxford to London Euston , via Bicester , Bletchley and Watford ; and in 1864

2552-579: The Independent prize: awarding an annual book of fiction translated into English, with the £50,000 prize split between author and translator. Each shortlisted author and translator receives £2,500. Its aim is to encourage publishing and reading of quality works in translation and to highlight the work of translators. Judges select a longlist of 12 or 13 books in March (“the Booker Dozen”), followed by

2640-600: The Orange Prize ). There are awards for various writing formats including poetry and novels . Many awards are also dedicated to a certain genre of fiction or non-fiction writing (such as science fiction or politics ). There are also awards dedicated to works in individual languages, such as the Miguel de Cervantes Prize ( Spanish ); the Camões Prize ( Portuguese ); the Booker Prize , The Writers' Prize ,

2728-493: The Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach West as well as other operators including Arriva Shires & Essex and Thames Travel . Oxford has one of the largest urban park and ride networks in the United Kingdom. Its five sites, at Pear Tree, Redbridge , Seacourt , Thornhill, Water Eaton and Oxford Parkway have a combined capacity of 4,930 car parking spaces, served by 20 Oxford Bus Company double decker buses with

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2816-461: The Oxford Star (tabloid; free and delivered), and Oxford Journal (tabloid; weekly free pick-up). Oxford is also home to several advertising agencies . Daily Information (known locally as "Daily Info") is an event information and advertising news sheet which has been published since 1964 and now provides a connected website. Nightshift is a monthly local free magazine that has covered

2904-920: The Pulitzer Prize and the Hugo Award ( English ). Other international literary prizes include the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Franz Kafka Prize , and the Jerusalem Prize . The International Dublin Literary Award is given to writers, as well as to the translator(s) if the book chosen was written in a language other than English. Spoof awards include: The Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction Award ,

2992-529: The Westgate Oxford . The Westgate Centre is named for the original West Gate in the city wall, and is at the west end of Queen Street . A major redevelopment and expansion to 750,000 sq ft (70,000 m ), with a new 230,000 sq ft (21,000 m ) John Lewis department store and a number of new homes, was completed in October 2017. Blackwell's Bookshop is a bookshop which claims

3080-815: The 1970s and 1980s, leaving behind a city which had developed far beyond the university town of the past. Oxford's latitude and longitude are 51°45′07″N 1°15′28″W  /  51.75194°N 1.25778°W  / 51.75194; -1.25778 , with Ordnance Survey grid reference SP513061 (at Carfax Tower , which is usually considered the centre). Oxford is 24 miles (39 km) north-west of Reading , 26 miles (42 km) north-east of Swindon , 36 miles (58 km) east of Cheltenham , 43 miles (69 km) east of Gloucester , 29 miles (47 km) south-west of Milton Keynes , 38 miles (61 km) south-east of Evesham , 43 miles (69 km) south of Rugby and 51 miles (82 km) west-north-west of London . The rivers Cherwell and Thames (also sometimes known as

3168-597: The A40 continued to Oxford. When the M40 extension to Birmingham was completed in January 1991, it curved sharply north, and a mile of the old motorway became a spur. The M40 comes no closer than 6 miles (10 km) away from the city centre, curving to pass to the east of Otmoor . The M40 meets the A34 to the north of Oxford. There are two universities in Oxford, the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University , as well as

3256-421: The A40 where two residential service roads adjoin, and was completed in 1966. The main roads to/from Oxford are: On 28 February 2022 a zero-emission pilot area became operational in Oxford city centre. Zero-emission vehicles can be used without incurring a charge but all petrol and diesel vehicles (including hybrids) incur a daily charge if they are driven in the zone between 7am and 7pm. A consultation on

3344-724: The Eagle Steam Brewery) in Park End Street and Wootten and Cole's St. Clement's Brewery. The Swan's Nest Brewery, later the Swan Brewery, was established by the early 18th century in Paradise Street , and in 1795 was acquired by William Hall. The brewery became known as Hall's Oxford Brewery, which acquired other local breweries. Hall's Brewery was acquired by Samuel Allsopp & Sons in 1926, after which it ceased brewing in Oxford. Morrell's

3432-555: The Isis locally, supposedly from the Latinised name Thamesis ) run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre. These rivers and their flood plains constrain the size of the city centre. Oxford has a maritime temperate climate ( Köppen : Cfb ). Precipitation is uniformly distributed throughout the year and is provided mostly by weather systems that arrive from the Atlantic . The lowest temperature ever recorded in Oxford

3520-684: The Man Booker International Prize was announced on 13 March 2019. The shortlist was announced on 9 April 2019. The winner was announced on 21 May 2019; Jokha Alharthi is the first author writing in Arabic to have won the Man Booker International Prize. Bettany Hughes said of Celestial Bodies that, "We felt we were getting access to ideas and thoughts and experiences you aren’t normally given in English. It avoids every stereotype you might expect in its analysis of gender and race and social distinction and slavery." The longlist for

3608-514: The Oxford music scene since 1991. Oxford is home to many museums , galleries , and collections, most of which are free of admission charges and are major tourist attractions . The majority are departments of the University of Oxford . The first of these to be established was the Ashmolean Museum , the world's first university museum , and the oldest museum in the UK. Its first building

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3696-413: The United Kingdom or Ireland, with a £50,000 prize for the winning title, shared equally between author and translator. Crankstart, the charitable foundation of Sir Michael Moritz and his wife, Harriet Heyman began supporting The Booker Prizes on 1 June 2019. From this date, the prizes were known as The Booker Prize and The International Booker Prize. Of their support for The Booker Prize Foundation and

3784-809: The United Kingdom, after the British Library . The Bodleian Library is a legal deposit library, which means that it is entitled to request a free copy of every book published in the United Kingdom. As such, its collection is growing at a rate of over three miles (five kilometres) of shelving every year. As well as the BBC national radio stations , Oxford and the surrounding area has several local stations, including BBC Radio Oxford , Heart South , Destiny 105 , Greatest Hits Radio and Hits Radio Oxfordshire , along with Oxide: Oxford Student Radio (which went on terrestrial radio at 87.7 MHz FM in late May 2005). A local TV station , Six TV : The Oxford Channel,

3872-528: The area is often used by film and TV crews. Aside from the city centre, there are several suburbs and neighbourhoods within the borders of the city of Oxford, including: Oxford is at the centre of the Oxford Green Belt , which is an environmental and planning policy that regulates the rural space in Oxfordshire surrounding the city, aiming to prevent urban sprawl and minimize convergence with nearby settlements. The policy has been blamed for

3960-471: The best winner. Sometimes juries can not decide between two contentious books so they will compromise with a third inoffensive bland book. He says there are now so many awards and prizes it has diluted the prestige of being a prize-winning book. Flanagan clarifies he is not against literary awards, but believes they should not be taken too seriously as a form of support for literary culture. Oxford Oxford ( / ˈ ɒ k s f ər d / )

4048-795: The city of Oxford was a county borough , independent from the county council. Oxford City Council meets at the Town Hall on the street called St Aldate's in the city centre. The current building was completed in 1897, on a site which had been occupied by Oxford's guildhall since the 13th century. Most of Oxford is an unparished area , but there are four civil parishes within the city's boundaries: Blackbird Leys , Littlemore , Old Marston , and Risinghurst and Sandhills . Oxford's economy includes manufacturing, publishing and science-based industries as well as education, sports, entertainment, breweries, research and tourism. Oxford has been an important centre of motor manufacturing since Morris Motors

4136-675: The fifth Man Booker International Prize were announced on 24 January 2013. Marilynne Robinson was the only writer out of the ten nominees who had been nominated for the prize before. Lydia Davis, best known as a short story writer, was announced as the winner of the 2013 prize on 22 May at a ceremony at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London . The official announcement of Davis' award on the Man Booker Prize website described her work as having "the brevity and precision of poetry." Judging panel chair Christopher Ricks commented that "There

4224-522: The first author from Hungary to receive the Man Booker award. The prize was given to recognise his "achievement in fiction on the world stage". British author Marina Warner , who chaired the panel of judges that selected Krasznahorkai for the award, compared his writing to Kafka and Beckett . Krasznahorkai's translators, George Szirtes and Ottilie Mulzet , shared the £15,000 translators' prize. The chair of each year's judging panel

4312-466: The fourth Man Booker International Prize were announced on 30 March 2011 at a ceremony in Sydney, Australia. John le Carré asked to be removed from consideration, saying he was "flattered", but that he does not compete for literary prizes. However, judge Rick Gekoski said although he was disappointed that le Carré wanted to withdraw, his name would remain on the list. American novelist Roth was announced as

4400-400: The introduction of a wider zero-emission zone is expected in the future, at a date to be confirmed. Oxford has eight bus gates, short sections of road where only buses and other authorised vehicles can pass. Six further bus gates are currently proposed. A council-led consultation on the traffic filters ended on 13 October 2022. On 29 November 2022, Oxfordshire County Council cabinet approved

4488-494: The introduction on a trial basis, for a minimum period of six months. The trial will begin after improvement works to Oxford railway station are complete, which is expected to be by October 2024. The additional bus gates have been controversial; Oxford University and Oxford Bus Company support the proposals but more than 3,700 people have signed an online petition opposing the new traffic filters for Marston Ferry Road and Hollow Way, and hotelier Jeremy Mogford has argued they would be

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4576-553: The journalist Hephzibah Anderson noted that the Man Booker International Prize was "fast becoming the more significant award, appearing an ever more competent alternative to the Nobel". In July 2015 it was announced that the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize would be disbanded. The prize money from that award would be folded into the Man Booker International Prize, which would henceforth act similarly to

4664-493: The large rise in house prices in Oxford, making it the least affordable city in the United Kingdom outside of London, with estate agents calling for brownfield land inside the green belt to be released for new housing. The vast majority of the area covered is outside of the city, but there are some green spaces within that which are covered by the designation, such as much of the Thames and river Cherwell flood-meadows , and

4752-548: The largest single room devoted to book sales in the whole of Europe, the Norrington Room (10,000 sq ft). There is a long history of brewing in Oxford. Several of the colleges had private breweries, one of which, at Brasenose , survived until 1889. In the 16th century brewing and malting appear to have been the most popular trades in the city. There were breweries in Brewer Street and Paradise Street , near

4840-678: The most complete remains of a dodo found anywhere in the world. It also hosts the Simonyi Professorship of the Public Understanding of Science , currently held by Marcus du Sautoy . Adjoining the Museum of Natural History is the Pitt Rivers Museum , founded in 1884, which displays the university's archaeological and anthropological collections, currently holding over 500,000 items. It recently built

4928-529: The ninth Man Booker International Prize was announced on 12 March 2018. The shortlist of six books was announced on 12 April 2018 at an event at Somerset House in London. The winner was announced on 22 May 2018 at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Tokarczuk is the first Polish author to win the award, and shared the prize with Croft. Lisa Appignanesi described Tokarczuk as a "writer of wonderful wit, imagination, and literary panache." The longlist for

5016-416: The original ( Didcot ) route is still in use for its full length, portions of the others remain. There were also routes to the north and west. The line to Banbury was opened in 1850, and was extended to Birmingham Snow Hill in 1852; a route to Worcester opened in 1853. A branch to Witney was opened in 1862, which was extended to Fairford in 1873. The line to Witney and Fairford closed in 1962, but

5104-755: The others remain open. Oxford was historically an important port on the River Thames , with this section of the river being called the Isis ; the Oxford-Burcot Commission in the 17th century attempted to improve navigation to Oxford. Iffley Lock and Osney Lock lie within the bounds of the city. In the 18th century the Oxford Canal was built to connect Oxford with the Midlands . Commercial traffic has given way to recreational use of

5192-399: The pool of Oxford University students and graduates, and, especially for EFL education , use their Oxford location as a selling point. Oxford has numerous major tourist attractions, many belonging to the university and colleges. As well as several famous institutions, the town centre is home to Carfax Tower and the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, both of which offer views over

5280-400: The prize was announced on 27 February 2020. The shortlist was announced 2 April 2020. The winner announcement was originally planned for 19 May 2020, however due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was postponed to 26 August 2020. The longlist was announced on 30 March 2021, the shortlist on 22 April, and the winning author and translator on 2 June 2021. The longlist was announced on 10 March 2022;

5368-515: The prize. The longlist was announced on 11 March 2024, the shortlist on 9 April 2024, and the winner on 21 May 2024, at a ceremony at Tate Modern in London, sponsored by Maison Valentino . The judging panel for this year's prize is chaired by Canadian writer and broadcaster Eleanor Wachtel , and consists of Mojave American poet Natalie Diaz , Sri Lankan British novelist Romesh Gunesekera , South African artist William Kentridge , and American writer, editor and translator Aaron Robertson. On choosing

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5456-463: The prizes, Moritz commented: "Neither of us can imagine a day where we don’t spend time reading a book. The Booker Prizes are ways of spreading the word about the insights, discoveries, pleasures and joy that spring from great fiction". Whereas the Man Booker Prize was open only to writers from the Commonwealth , Ireland, and Zimbabwe, the International Prize was open to all nationalities who had work available in English including translations. The award

5544-457: The river and canal. Oxford was the original base of Salters Steamers (founded in 1858), which was a leading racing-boatbuilder that played an important role in popularising pleasure boating on the Upper Thames. The firm runs a regular service from Folly Bridge downstream to Abingdon and beyond. Oxford's central location on several transport routes means that it has long been a crossroads city with many coaching inns , although road traffic

5632-407: The second Man Booker International Prize were announced on 12 April 2007 at Massey College in Toronto. Nigerian author Chinua Achebe was awarded the International Prize for his literary career in 2007. Judge Nadine Gordimer said Achebe was "the father of modern African literature" and that he was "integral" to world literature. Achebe received his award on 28 June in Oxford . The 2009 prize

5720-458: The second highest percentage of people cycling to work. Oxford railway station is half a mile (about 1 km) west of the city centre. The station is served by CrossCountry services to Bournemouth and Manchester Piccadilly ; Great Western Railway (who manage the station) services to London Paddington , Banbury and Hereford ; and Chiltern Railways services to London Marylebone . Oxford has had three main railway stations. The first

5808-406: The shortlist on 7 April 2022 and the winner on 26 May 2022. Tomb of Sand is the first Hindi-language novel to receive a nomination, and the first novel in an Indian language to win the International Booker Prize. The longlist was announced on 14 March 2023, the shortlist on 18 April 2023, and the winner on 23 May 2023. Gospodinov's Time Shelter is the first Bulgarian-language book to have won

5896-471: The six shortlisted books, Eleanor Wachtel said, "Our shortlist, while implicitly optimistic, engages with current realities of racism and oppression, global violence and ecological disaster." The winner was Jenny Erpenbeck for her novel Kairos , translated from the German by Michael Hofmann . The judges' decision marked the first occasion the prize was won by either a German writer or a male translator. Literary award Most literary awards come with

5984-509: The specialist further and higher education institution Ruskin College that is part of the University of West London in Oxford. The Islamic Azad University also has a campus near Oxford. The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world, and one of the most prestigious higher education institutions of the world, averaging nine applications to every available place, and attracting 40% of its academic staff and 17% of undergraduates from overseas. In September 2016, it

6072-411: The spires of the city. Many tourists shop at the historic Covered Market . In the summer, punting on the Thames / Isis and the Cherwell is a common practice. As well as being a major draw for tourists (9.1 million in 2008, similar in 2009) , Oxford city centre has many shops, several theatres and an ice rink. There are two small shopping malls in the city centre: the Clarendon Centre and

6160-523: The town. A heavily ecclesiastical town, Oxford was greatly affected by the changes of the English Reformation , emerging as the seat of a bishopric and a full-fledged city. During the English Civil War , Oxford housed the court of Charles I and stood at the heart of national affairs. The city began to grow industrially during the 19th century, and had an industrial boom in the early 20th century, with major printing and car-manufacturing industries. These declined, along with other British heavy industry, in

6248-483: The upper reaches of the River Thames at its confluence with the River Cherwell , the town grew in national importance during the early Norman period , and in the late 12th century became home to the fledgling University of Oxford . The city was besieged during The Anarchy in 1142. During the Middle Ages Oxford had an important Jewish community, of which David of Oxford and his wife Licoricia of Winchester were prominent members. The university rose to dominate

6336-591: The village of Binsey , along with several smaller portions on the fringes. Other landscape features and places of interest covered include Cutteslowe Park and the mini railway attraction, the University Parks , Hogacre Common Eco Park, numerous sports grounds, Aston's Eyot , St Margaret 's Church and well, and Wolvercote Common and community orchard. There are two tiers of local government covering Oxford, at district and county level: Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council . From 1889 to 1974

6424-471: The winner on 18 May 2011 at the Sydney Writers' Festival. Of his win, Roth said "This is a great honour and I'm delighted to receive it." The writer said he hoped the prize would bring him to the attention of readers around the world who are not currently familiar with his body of work. Roth received his award in London on 28 June; however, he was unable to attend in person due to ill health, so he sent

6512-426: Was Boswell's , founded in 1738. The store closed in 2020. St Aldate's has few shops but several local government buildings, including the town hall , the city police station and local council offices. The High (the word street is traditionally omitted) is the longest of the four streets and has a number of independent and high-end chain stores, but mostly university and college buildings. The historic buildings mean

6600-412: Was 1788, with 336.7 mm (13.26 in) of rainfall. The wettest year was 2012, with 979.5 mm (38.56 in). The wettest month on record was September 1774, with a total fall of 223.9 mm (8.81 in). The warmest month on record is July 1983, with an average of 21.1 °C (70 °F) and the coldest is January 1963, with an average of −3.0 °C (27 °F). The warmest year on record

6688-555: Was also available but closed in April 2009; a service operated by That's TV , originally called That's Oxford (now That's Oxfordshire), took to the airwaves in 2015. The city is home to a BBC Television newsroom which produces an opt-out from the main South Today programme broadcast from Southampton . Local papers include The Oxford Times (compact; weekly), its sister papers the Oxford Mail ( tabloid ; daily) and

6776-606: Was announced on 14 June 2017. Grossman became the first Israeli author to win the prize, sharing the £50,000 award with translator Jessica Cohen. Nick Barley, who is the director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival , described the book as "an ambitious high-wire act of a novel [that] shines a spotlight on the effects of grief, without any hint of sentimentality. The central character is challenging and flawed, but completely compelling." The novel won over 126 other contenders. The longlist for

6864-678: Was erected in 1678–1683 to house a cabinet of curiosities given to the University of Oxford in 1677. The museum reopened in 2009 after a major redevelopment. It holds significant collections of art and archaeology, including works by Michelangelo , Leonardo da Vinci , Turner , and Picasso , as well as treasures such as the Scorpion Macehead , the Parian Marble and the Alfred Jewel . It also contains " The Messiah ",

6952-529: Was established in 1990, and the Begbroke Science Park , owned by the university, lies north of the city. Oxford increasingly has a reputation for being a centre of digital innovation, as epitomized by Digital Oxford. Several startups including Passle, Brainomix, Labstep, and more, are based in Oxford. The presence of the university has also led to Oxford becoming a centre for the education industry. Companies often draw their teaching staff from

7040-527: Was established in the city in 1910. The principal production site for Mini cars, owned by BMW since 2000, is in the Oxford suburb of Cowley . The plant, which survived the turbulent years of British Leyland in the 1970s and was threatened with closure in the early 1990s, also produced cars under the Austin and Rover brands following the demise of the Morris brand in 1984, although the last Morris-badged car

7128-592: Was founded in 1743 by Richard Tawney. He formed a partnership in 1782 with Mark and James Morrell, who eventually became the owners. After an acrimonious family dispute the brewery was closed in 1998. The beer brand names were taken over by the Thomas Hardy Burtonwood brewery, while the 132 tied pubs were bought by Michael Cannon, owner of the American hamburger chain Fuddruckers , through

7216-442: Was judged by Jane Smiley (Chair), Amit Chaudhuri and Andrey Kurkov . The nominees for the third Man Booker International Prize were announced on 18 March 2009 at The New York Public Library . Canadian short story writer Munro was named the winner of the prize in 2009 for her lifetime body of work. Judge Jane Smiley said picking a winner had been "a challenge", but Munro had won the panel over. On Munro's work, Smiley said "Her work

7304-565: Was opened at Grandpont in 1844, but this was a terminus, inconvenient for routes to the north; it was replaced by the present station on Park End Street in 1852 with the opening of the Birmingham route. Another terminus, at Rewley Road , was opened in 1851 to serve the Bletchley route; this station closed in 1951. There have also been a number of local railway stations, all of which are now closed. A fourth station, Oxford Parkway ,

7392-581: Was produced there in 1982. Oxford University Press , a department of the University of Oxford , is based in the city, although it no longer operates its own paper mill and printing house. The city is also home to the UK operations of Wiley-Blackwell , Elsevier and several smaller publishing houses. The presence of the university has given rise to many science and technology based businesses, including Oxford Instruments , Research Machines and Sophos . The university established Isis Innovation in 1987 to promote technology transfer. The Oxford Science Park

7480-586: Was ranked as the world's number one university, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings . Oxford is renowned for its tutorial -based method of teaching. The University of Oxford maintains the largest university library system in the United Kingdom, and, with over 11 million volumes housed on 120 miles (190 km) of shelving, the Bodleian group is the second-largest library in

7568-431: Was unanimous. He also said of the book "in a style both lyrical and lacerating, it reveals the impact of this great refusal both on the heroine herself and on those around her. This compact, exquisite and disturbing book will linger long in the minds, and maybe the dreams, of its readers." The longlist for the eighth Man Booker International Prize was announced on 14 March 2017, and the shortlist on 20 April 2017. The winner

7656-434: Was worth £60,000 and given every two years to a living author's entire body of literature, similar to the Nobel Prize for Literature . The Man Booker International Prize also allowed for a separate award for translation. If applicable, the winning author could choose their translators to receive a prize sum of £15,000. The 2005 inaugural winner of the prize was Albanian writer Ismail Kadare . Praising its concerted judgement,

7744-617: Was −17.8 °C (0.0 °F) on 24 December 1860. The highest temperature ever recorded in Oxford is 38.1 °C (101 °F) on 19 July 2022. The average conditions below are from the Radcliffe Meteorological Station . It has the longest series of temperature and rainfall records for one site in Britain . These records are continuous from January 1815. Irregular observations of rainfall, cloud cover, and temperature exist since 1767. The driest year on record

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