Betting on the Booker Prize Winner 2024

Want to bet on the Booker Prize 2023? Our expert guide unravels betting odds, scrutinizes shortlisted contenders, and draws lessons from past winners.
Betting on the Booker Prize Winner 2024
Nigel Skinner
Nigel Skinner Blog Content Manager

Football Manager Expert and Political Betting Specialist across Exchange and Spread Betting Sites

The Booker Prize Betting

Unleash the bibliophile in you and step into the exciting world of literary betting as we delve into the nuanced art of betting on the illustrious Booker Prize. This fascinating gamble, seen as a thrilling subplot in the vast narrative of world literature, adds a dash of intrigue to the prestigious Booker Prize suitably functioning as the literary equivalent of Grand National or Kentucky Derby betting.

Booker Prize Key Dates

The Booker Dozen’ of 12 or 13 books will be announced in July 2023 with a shortlist of six books to follow in September. The winner of the £50,000 prize will be announced in the Autumn of 2023.

In this article, we will present the shortlist of this year’s aspiring nominees, destined to be added to the pantheon of literary greats. We further review the past laureates of this esteemed literature award, essentially providing a literary and betting guide to the Booker Prize, often rightly considered as the ‘Ultimate Literary Game of Thrones’.

Current Booker Prize Betting Odds (Shortlist Stage)

Below are the latest betting odds correct as of 27th September 2023, subsequent to the shortlist announcement on 21st September - The list of 13 in the long list has been cut to the final 6

Booker Prize 2023 WinnerOddsProbability
Paul Lynch - Prophet Song2/133.30%
Paul Murray - The Bee Sting5/228.60%
Chetna Maroo - Western Lane3/125.00%
Sarah Bernstein - Study for Obedience6/114.30%
Jonathon Escoffery - If I Survive You6/114.30%
Paul Harding - This Other Eden6/114.30%

For the most up to date information and market moves, take a look at our betting news feed which will have the latest coverage.

Booker Prize 2023 Betting Odds: Tan Twan Eng’s novel The House of Doors is 2/1 favourite to win this year's Booker Prize after longlist announced!
ALSO READ

Booker Prize 2023 Betting Odds: Tan Twan Eng’s novel The House of Doors is 2/1 favourite to win this year's Booker Prize after longlist announced!

Booker Prize 2025 Contenders (Shortlist)

With Samathan Harvey now crowned Booker Prize Winner for 2024, wth her sci-fi novel Orbital on 12th November, the long wait for the 2025 edition begins

The Booker Prize Betting News Diary Timeline

The betting for The Booker Prize is normally available after the longlist is revealed and then updated when the final six on the shortlist are announced.  Often the major bookies disagree on a favourite and there is plenty of movement in the Booker Prize Odds. 

Here is a round-up of the Booker Prize Betting News from our OLBG News feed

6th September 2024

Booker Prize 2024 Betting Odds: Percival Everett is 5/2 favourite to win this year's Booker Prize with six-book shortlist coming this month!
ALSO READ

Booker Prize 2024 Betting Odds: Percival Everett is 5/2 favourite to win this year's Booker Prize with six-book shortlist coming this month!

15th May 2024

International Booker Prize Betting Odds: Brazilian writer Itamar Vieira Junior is now 6/4 to win this year's International Booker Prize as bookies offer odds!
ALSO READ

International Booker Prize Betting Odds: Brazilian writer Itamar Vieira Junior is now 6/4 to win this year's International Booker Prize as bookies offer odds!

16th November 2023

Booker Prize 2023 Betting Odds: Paul Lynch's Prophet Song remains CLEAR FAVOURITE to win the Booker Prize with announcement at end of this month!
ALSO READ

Booker Prize 2023 Betting Odds: Paul Lynch's Prophet Song remains CLEAR FAVOURITE to win the Booker Prize with announcement at end of this month!

15th August 2023

Booker Prize 2023 Betting Odds: Tan Twan Eng’s novel The House of Doors is 2/1 favourite to win this year's Booker Prize after longlist announced!
ALSO READ

Booker Prize 2023 Betting Odds: Tan Twan Eng’s novel The House of Doors is 2/1 favourite to win this year's Booker Prize after longlist announced!

12th October 2022

Booker Prize 2022 Betting Odds: Elizabeth Strout's 'Oh William!' now into 3/1 favourite with bookmakers to win this year's Booker Prize Award!
ALSO READ

Booker Prize 2022 Betting Odds: Elizabeth Strout's 'Oh William!' now into 3/1 favourite with bookmakers to win this year's Booker Prize Award!

Elizabeth Strout is now the bookmaker's favourite to win this year's Booker Prize Award ahead of next week's event. The 2022 Booker Prize winner will be awarded on 17th October with the first public event with the winner set for Thursday 20th at Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall. Smarkets have made Elizabeth Strout's 'Oh William!' the 3/1 favourite just ahead of 'The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida' by Shahan Karunatilaka.

1st September 2022

Booker Prize 2022 Betting Odds: Alan Garner's Treacle Walker REMAINS 5/1 favourite with betting sites to win this year's award!
ALSO READ

Booker Prize 2022 Betting Odds: Alan Garner's Treacle Walker REMAINS 5/1 favourite with betting sites to win this year's award!

Alan Garner's Treacle Walker is now the 5/1 favourite with betting sites to win the 2022 Booker Prize Award. Walker's booked has received massive critical acclaim with one report in the Guardian calling it the "book of a lifetime". Maddie Mortimer's Maps of our Spectacular Bodies is joint-favourite at 5/1 with some betting sites. Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout is just behind in the betting market with Bet365 at 6/1, with 13 candidates in the odds. Those 13 candidates will be whittled down to just 6 nominees next week on the 6th of September.

4th August 2022

Booker Prize 2022 Betting Odds: Alan Garner's Treacle Walker is the 9/2 favourite to win this year's award!
ALSO READ

Booker Prize 2022 Betting Odds: Alan Garner's Treacle Walker is the 9/2 favourite to win this year's award!

Alan Garner's Treacle Walker is now the 9/2 favourite with bookmakers to win the 2022 Booker Prize Award. Walker's book has received massive critical acclaim with one report in the Guardian calling it the "book of a lifetime". Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout is just behind in the betting market at 5/1, with 13 candidates in the odds. Bet365 have a full list of odds available for the Prize, with each longlist nominee given odds.

15th September 2021

Damon Galgut is cut to 5/2 with Bookmakers with a Promise of Booker Prize Glory
ALSO READ

Damon Galgut is cut to 5/2 with Bookmakers with a Promise of Booker Prize Glory

There were 7 disappointed authors from the Booker prize betting yesterday as their chances were killed off with the final shortlist of 6 being announced. The biggest to have been dropped being Kazuo Ishiguru's Klara and the Sun which had been Third Favourite at the shortlist 13 stage. Rachel Cusk's Second Place will not be gaining that position this year either after being dropped. Damon Galgut's 'The Promise' remains the favourite to win at 5/2 with bookmakers, closely followed by Richard Power's highly acclaimed 'Bewilderment' at 3/1, the remainder of the odds suggest this is rather a two-horse-race.

31st August 2021

Bookmakers Make Kazuo Ishiguro 6/1 3rd Favourite to Land Second Booker Prize after 32 years!
ALSO READ

Bookmakers Make Kazuo Ishiguro 6/1 3rd Favourite to Land Second Booker Prize after 32 years!

As August comes to a close there are 13 excited authors on the Booker prize long list waiting expectedly and hoping their publication is not one of the seven eliminated as the Booker prize shortlist is announced on 14th September. There are currently there joint-favourites all being offered by Bookmakers at the same 11/2 odds to win the prize including Klara and the Sun from Kazuo Ishiguro. The Japanese-born British author has had multiple nominations in his career and has a previous booker prize win under his belt for 'Remains of the Day' back in 1989. Klara and the Sun is currently 11/2 to win representing a 15% chance as per bookmakers' odds. There is little to choose between the given probabilities of the expected 6 books to make the shortlist on 14th September. 

What is Booker Prize Betting?

Every year since 1969 there has been a Booker Prize Literary Award. In recent times the bookmakers have latched on to the interest the prize generates and started offering betting odds on the novels.  

Booker Prize Judges
This year the five judges are Esi Edugyan, Adjoa Andoh, Mary Jean Chan, James Shapiro, and Robert Webb.

Booker Prize Betting Markets

The main market that the majority of the best betting sites will have is selecting the Booker Prize winner. 

However other markets can be offered or you can ask directly for prices on a range of options 

  • Choose the English language novel that will win the Booker Prize this year. 
  • Will the Booker Prize be won by someone born in the United Kingdom?
  • Will the Booker Prize be won by a debut novelist?


How To Place A Booker Prize Bet

  • Once at the bookmakers scroll to the specials market and find Booker Prize Betting
  • Here you will see the list of books being offered as options to bet on.
  • All you need do is click on your selection.
  • This will open up the bet slip, at which point you will see confirmation of the betting odds being offered
  • Now you choose your stake - most betting sites will show you how much you can expect to have returned if your prediction is correct.
  • If you are happy, simply hit, PLACE BET, to confirm your selection, stake, and bet.
  • You will be given a receipt for your bet and it will appear in your open bets in your account details.
  • Then it's just a matter of waiting to see which of the books is chosen as the winner.

The Booker Prize Winners 1969-2024

YearWinnerAuthorNovelBorn
2022WinnerShehan KarunatilakaThe Seven Moons of Maali AlmeidaSri Lanka
2021WinnerDamon GalgutThe PromiseSouth Africa
2020WinnerDouglas StuartShuggie BainScotland
2019Joint WinnerMargaret AtwoodThe TestamentsCanada
2019Joint WinnerBernardine EvaristoGirl, Woman, OtherEngland
2018WinnerAnna BurnsMilkmanNorthern Ireland
2017WinnerGeorge SaundersLincoln in the BardoUSA
2016WinnerPaul BeattyThe SelloutUSA
2015WinnerMarlon JamesA Brief History of Seven KillingsJamaica
2014WinnerRichard FlanaganThe Narrow Road to the Deep NorthAustralia
Debut Novels
Only 6 authors have won with their debut novel, this includes the 2020 winner.

Douglas Stuart

Booker Prize Nationality of Winners

The Booker Prize is a truly international award as you can see by the winners below. 

English Booker Prize Winners

Around 53% of Booker Prize winners were born in the UK.
Country of BirthWins
United Kingdom29
Australia5
Canada4
Ireland3
India3
South Africa3
New Zealand2
USA2
France1
Jamaica1
More Than One Winner
The Booker Prize has been shared on 3 occasions, in 1974, 1992, and 2019.

The Booker Prize Statistics

It can help our booker prize betting decisions to research various aspects of previous booker prize winners.

GenreBooker Prize Percentage
Historical fiction36%
Fiction27%
Psychological Fiction11%
Historical Metafiction4%
Domestic Fiction4%
Dark Comedy4%
Philosophical, Biography, Mystery, Comic14%


Male or Female
35 Male (66%) and 18 Female (34%) authors have won the Booker Prize.

Five authors have won the Booker Prize on two occasions.

AuthorTitle & Year
Margaret Attwood2019 Testaments & 2000 The Blind Assasin 
Hilary Mantel2009 Wolf Hall & 2012 Bring Out The Bodies
Peter Carey1988 Oscar and Lucinda & 2001 True History Of the Kelly Gang
JM Coetzee1983 Life and Times Of Michael K & 1999 Disgrace
JG Farrell1973 The Siege of Krishnapur & 2010 The Troubles 


The Booker Prize Historical Betting Odds

To give you some insight into betting odds and percentages here are the betting odds prior to the winner being announced. 

2022

AuthorTitleBetting OddsBookmakers Percentage Chance
Alan GarnerTreacle Walker4.0 or 3/125%
Elizabeth StroutOh William!4.5 or 7/222.22%
NoViolet BulawayoGlory4.5 or 7/222.22%
Shehan Karunatilaka (Winner)The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida6.0 or 5/1 16.67%
Claire KeeganSmall Things Like These6.0 or 5/116.67%
Percival EverettThe Trees6.5 or 11/215.38%

2021

AuthorTitleBetting OddsBookmakers Percentage Chance
Damon Galgut (Winner)The Promise2.75 or 2/1 36.36%
Nadifa MohamedThe Fortune Men3.0 or 2/133.33%
Maggie ShipsteadGreat Circle3.75 or 11/426.67%
Richard PowersBewilderment8.0 or 7/112.50%
Anuk ArudpragasamA Passage North10.0 or 9/110.00%
Patricia LockwoodNo One Is Talking About This10.0 or 9/110.00%

2020

AuthorTitleBetting OddsBookmakers Percentage Chance
Douglas Stuart (Winner)Shuggie Bain4.5 or 7/2 @ Ladbrokes22.22%
Maaza MengisteThe Shadow King5.0 or 4/1 @ Ladbrokes20.67%
Tsitsi DangarembgaThis Mournable Body5.0 or 4/1 @ Paddy Power20.00%
Brandon TaylorReal Life7.0 or 6/1 @Paddy Power14.27%
Diane CookThe New Wilderness9.0 or 8/1 @ Ladbrokes11.11%
Avni DoshiBurnt Sugar13.00 or 12/1@ Ladbrokes7.69%



International Booker Prize Winner 2022

The winner was announced last year as The Tomb Of The Sand by Geetanjali Shree translated by Daisy Rockwell. In 2021 it was At Night All Blood Is Black by David Diop and translated by Anna Moschovakis

International Booker Prize
The International Booker Prize is awarded annually for the finest single work of fiction from around the world which has been translated into English and published in the UK and Ireland.

The £50,000 International Booker Prize money is equally split between the author and translator. 

Booker Prize

With jury voting, it will always be a subjective opinion, and with human beings prone to emotion the most moving novel often seems to do well.

The Booker Prize Controversy

Since the Booker Prize was created in 1969 it has seen its fair share of controversy with both at times judges and authors questioning the fairness of the award and whether it is appropriate to rate books. 

In 2019 the judges went off message by awarding the prize to two authors, despite being told that this was against the Booker rules. 

In  June 2020 there was another literary furore when the Booker Foundation Vice President Lady Nicholson was removed from her honorary position. 

The Peer had been criticized by writers who accused her of homophobia.

Authors cited her for voting against the Same-Sex Marriage Bill, and for as some saw it her controversial comments on social media in relation to the trans community.

FAQ

Booker Prize FAQ

  • How long have we been able to bet on the Booker Prize?

  • What month do we first get Booker Prize Odds?

  • What year was the Booker Prize first awarded?

  • Who was the first winner of the Booker Prize?

  • Who is the Oldest Booker Prize winner?

  • Who is the Youngest Booker Prize winner?

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