Belfast-born author becomes first Northern Irish writer to win the Man Booker Prize

A Belfast-born author has won Britain's most prestigious literary award with a novel about a teenage girl being stalked by a middle-aged paramilitary.
Anna Burns with the cover of her novel Milkman. Picture: Man Booker Prize/PA WireAnna Burns with the cover of her novel Milkman. Picture: Man Booker Prize/PA Wire
Anna Burns with the cover of her novel Milkman. Picture: Man Booker Prize/PA Wire

Anna Burns has become the first author from Northern Ireland and the 17th female writer to win the Man Booker Prize.

The 56-year-old, who drew on her own experiences of the “Troubles” to write Milkman, was one of four female contenders for the award.

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The six-strong shortlist included the youngest ever author, 27-year-old Daisy Johnson, and the Scottish poet, Robin Robertson, the first writer to have a “novel in verse” in contention.

Set in an unnamed city, Milkman is said to explore the dense atmosphere of suspicion, self-censorship, sexual policing, danger and betrayal of life in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.”

Kwame Anthony Appia, chair of the judging panel, which included the scottish crime writer Val McDermid, said: “None of us has ever read anything like this before.

“Anna Burns’ utterly distinctive voice challenges conventional thinking and form in surprising and immersive prose.

“It is a story of brutality, sexual encroachment and resistance threaded with mordant humour. Set in a society divided against itself, Milkman explores the insidious forms oppression can take in everyday life.’

Discussing the book previously, Burns said: “I grew up in a place that was rife with violence, distrust and paranoia, and peopled by individuals trying to navigate and survive in that world as best as they could.”

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Asked why she decided not to name either the city in the book or the main protagonist of Milkman, Burns said: “The book didn’t work with names. It lost power and atmosphere and turned into a lesser - or perhaps just a different - book.

“In the early days I tried out names a few times, but the book wouldn’t stand for it.

“The narrative would become heavy and lifeless and refuse to move on until I took them out again.

“Sometimes the book threw them out itself.”