The Booker Prize is making way for Barack Obama.
The organizers of the prestigious British literary award have changed the day they’re announcing the winner of the prize from Nov. 17 to Nov. 19.
The reason? Nov. 17 happens to be the publication date of a little book they expect might make waves: former President Obama’s memoir A Promised Land.
“We thought it unfortunate that two of the most exciting literary events of the year—the announcement of the winner of the 2020 Booker Prize and the publication of Barack Obama’s memoirs—were due to fall on the same day, so we’ve decided to give readers a couple of days' breathing space,” said Booker Prize Foundation Literary Director Gaby Wood in a news release.
Penguin Random House imprint Crown announced earlier this month that Obama’s new book would be released two weeks after the presidential election in November. The memoir is widely expected to be a huge hit, just as Michelle Obama’s Becoming was in 2018.
Crown is printing 3 million copies of the book, which will be published in 25 different languages.
The Booker announcement date change will likely come as a relief to the National Book Foundation, which announces the winners of the National Book Awards on Nov. 18.
Lisa Lucas, the outgoing executive director of the foundation, wasn’t pleased that the Booker Prize announcement date was close to theirs, tweeting earlier this month, “I’m still trying to process the Booker moving their winner announcement and event to the evening before ours. I keep hoping that I hallucinated it.”
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
