An Evening with Booker Prize Judge Chris Power
Ever wondered what it’s like to read hundreds of novels in just a few months and then help decide which one wins the most famous literary prize in the world?
Hot on the heels of the winner’s announcement, join us and Clare Howdle (Falmouth University) for a lively evening with Chris Power, writer, broadcaster, critic, and one of the 2025 Booker Prize judges as he takes us behind the scenes of life on the judging panel.
From marathon reading sessions, to the art of keeping dozens of plots and characters straight, to how heated (but always friendly) the debates can get when it comes to picking a winner, it’s sure to be an insightful and eye-opening few hours.
Chris will also share how reading at this scale has changed the way he writes, what he looks for in a book that really sticks, why he still gets a thrill out of discovering a novel that surprises.
Bring your curiosity, your questions, and maybe even your own “if I were a Booker judge…” hot takes.
This is your chance to hear how the prize really works, what makes a book unforgettable, and why reading together (and sometimes arguing about it!) can be even better than reading alone.
Get a taste for Chris on The Booker Prize judging process
About the speaker: Chris Power is the author of a novel, A Lonely Man, a Washington Post and New Statesman book of the year, and a short story collection, Mothers, which was longlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize and shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize. His fiction has appeared in Granta, the Stinging Fly and the Dublin Review. He was a regular presenter of BBC Radio 4’s ‘Open Book’ from 2020 to 2024. His criticism has appeared in newspapers and magazines including the Guardian, the Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, the New York Times, the New Statesman, Fantastic Man and the London Review of Books.
He regularly chairs literary events and has taught writing in various capacities, including on the MA in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London. His judging experience includes the Frank O’Connor Prize, the BBC National Short Story Award, the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and the Goldsmiths Prize.
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