Paul Beatty just became the first U.S. author to win the Man Booker Prize

(Image credit: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images)

published 25 October 2016

Writer Paul Beatty became the first U.S. author to win the Man Booker Prize on Tuesday, in recognition of his critically acclaimed 2015 novel, The Sellout. The novel is set in Beatty's hometown of Los Angeles, and, per BBC's recap, "tells the story of a young black man who tries to reinstate slavery and racial segregation." The five judges unanimously chose Beatty's book as the winner ahead of five other finalists.

The chair of the judges, Amanda Foreman, hailed Beatty's racial satire for managing to "eviscerate every social taboo" and displaying "an absolutely savage wit" akin to that of Jonathan Swift or Mark Twain. "This is a book that nails the reader to the cross with cheerful abandon," she said. "But while you are being nailed you are being tickled."

Though the award was first given out in 1969, it wasn't until 2014 that it was opened to authors outside of Britain, Ireland, and the Commonwealth nations. The winner gets £50,000 — nearly $61,000.