The judges considered 151 books, which were whittled down to 13 on the longlist, six on the shortlist, and tonight there will be just one book left, one winner. The six shortlisted authors are all here tonight they include two former winners of the prize sir Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood. And all of them are now waiting to find out if they have won, and if theyll be taking home the £50,000 cheque that goes with winning. To help guide us through the proceedings, im delighted to say were joined by the author and journalist Daisy Buchanan and nic bottomley, owner of mr bs book shop in bath, and president of the Booksellers Association which represents book shops in the uk and ireland. Thank you both for being here. Not long now, plenty to discuss. But before we chat, lets have a look at this years shortlist. You lionesses six of the best books of the year are competing for the booker prize. Margaret atwoods testa m e nts booker prize. Margaret atwoods testaments is the sequel to the
A dozen years ago, europeans looked to turkey and thought they saw a country becoming more like them, embracing Western Values and on a long term track to eu membership. But today, well, europe sees authoritarianism, conservatism, and repression embodied in the all powerful figure of president erdogan. My guest is elif shafak, the turkish novelist and writer who lives much of her life in london. Does the west get anywhere close to understanding turkeys complex culture and politics . Elif shafak, welcome to hardtalk. Thank you. When you write of turkey today, i wonder what emotions draw you . Would it be anger or sadness or incomprehension . I think there is a lot of sadness. I feel sad. I feel worried. So much is changing in turkey and so fast. I think speed is important with many things that are happening, with a bewildering speed which almost prevents time to stop and analyse because Something Else happens next week and so it goes on and on. I am very sad when i look at the direction
A dozen years ago, europeans looked to turkey and thought they saw a country becoming more like them, embracing Western Values and on a long term track to eu membership. But today, well, europe sees authoritarianism, conservatism, and repression embodied in the all powerful figure of president erdogan. My guest is elif shafak, the turkish novelist and writer who lives much of her life in london. Does the west get anywhere close to understanding turkeys complex culture and politics . Elif shafak, welcome to hardtalk. Thank you. When you write of turkey today, i wonder what emotions draw you . Would it be anger or sadness or incomprehension . I think there is a lot of sadness. I feel sad. I feel worried. So much is changing in turkey and so fast. I think speed is important with many things that are happening, with a bewildering speed which almost prevents time to stop and analyse because Something Else happens next week and so it goes on and on. I am very sad when i look at the direction
A dozen years ago, europeans looked to turkey and thought they saw a country becoming more like them, embracing Western Values and on a long term track to eu membership. But today, well, europe sees authoritarianism, conservatism, and repression embodied in the all powerful figure of president erdogan. My guest is elif shafak, the turkish novelist and writer who lives much of her life in london. Does the west get anywhere close to understanding turkeys complex culture and politics . Elif shafak, welcome to hardtalk. Thank you. When you write of turkey today, i wonder what emotions draw you . Would it be anger or sadness or incomprehension . I think there is a lot of sadness. I feel sad. I feel worried. So much is changing in turkey and so fast. I think speed is important with many things that are happening, with a bewildering speed which almost prevents time to stop and analyse because Something Else happens next week and so it goes on and on. I am very sad when i look at the direction