Martin MacInnes longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023

We are thrilled to announce that Martin MacInnes has been longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023.

His third novel, In Ascension, which was published by Atlantic Books in February of this year, joins a longlist of 13 books in total, including 10 other authors who, like Martin, have been longlisted for the first time.

Of the longlist, the Booker states:

The 13 longlisted books explore universal and topical themes: from deeply moving personal dramas to tragi-comic family sagas; from the effects of climate change to the oppression of minorities; from scientific breakthroughs to competitive sport.

The Booker commends In Ascension:

Exploring the natural world with wonder and reverence, this compassionate, deeply inquisitive epic reaches outward to confront the great questions of existence, while looking inward to illuminate the human heart.

And the judges state:

In this strange and wonderful world, every outward journey – whether to space or the depths of the ocean – is an inward one, as Leigh seeks to move beyond her troubled childhood. In Ascension is a Solaris for the climate-change age.

The judges include Mary Jean Chan, James Shapiro, Esi Edugyan, Robert Webb and Adjoa Andoh. Esi Edugyan, chair of the judges, states:

All 13 novels cast new light on what it means to exist in our time, and they do so in original and thrilling ways.

The longlist was announced on 1 August 2023. The shortlist will be announced on 21 September, and the winner on 26 November 2023.

Find out more about the Booker Prize 2023 here.