Collecting Booker Prize Winners
Can I Make Money From Them?
Is It Worth Collecting Booker Prize Winners?
You need to consider two things before you decide:
- Can you afford it?
- Do you have the time?
Collecting Booker Prize winners can be expensive as there are many titles that cost several hundred pounds as they are in great demand being in the hands of collectors. If you can afford to purchase them then it is worthwhile as your profit will grow over the years. If you have the time to research and collect and keep your collection for a few years (the longer the better) then it can be a quite lucrative as there have not been any full collections of first edition, first prints on the market. If they did come on the market the result would probably be in the tens of thousands.
Tips For Buying Past & Future Booker Prize Winners
Always ask for an image of the copyright page if images don’t show it on a listing to make sure that you’re buying a first edition, first printing of the books’ year. Make sure the publisher is the correct one for the UK edition. American editions are likely to be published by another publisher.
The long list of about 13 books is usually announced around 4 months before the final winner is announced. That list is shortened to about 6 books 2 months prior to announcing the winner. Now is your chance to grab a Booker Prize winner before the winner is announced. Sometimes there are joint winners so you will already have the two winners if you purchase the shortlisted books. These can usually be picked up for a few pounds but as soon as the winner is announced you are talking hundreds of pounds. Many books that have been shortlisted for the Booker Prize go on to win other prizes which increases their resale value. The Whitbread Prize is one of them and The Nobel Prize of literature is another – so keep hold of those books. Once a book has been shortlisted for the prize, they usually increase in value just for being on the shortlist so you can sell them on for more than you paid if you’re savvy enough.
What Increases The Value Of Booker Prize Winners?
- First UK editions, first printings. Don’t settle for anything less. A UK edition will indicate where it was published, such as London, or Edinburgh for example. If it states somewhere in America for instance then it’s not a UK first edition.
- They must have the original dust jacket. The finer the condition of the dust jacket the better your collection will be. Sellers usually list the dust jacket as fine, near fine, very good, good, fair or poor. Dust jackets are just as important as the condition of the book. But if you have a fine dust jacket on a good condition book this can balance out the price.
- An uncorrected paperback proof edition can enhance the price especially if it is signed by the author.
- If you can afford it go for signed copies. There are many forged signatures out there so do your homework first. A good indication of a true signature is the bookshops sticker stating it is a signed copy.
- Having any special edition such as the added 1970 edition. (See the details in the fill list of Booker Prize winners below).
- You can have a mix of signed and unsigned as long as they are the first printings of the UK first edition. The more that are signed will increase the overall value of your collection.
How To Identify A First Edition First Printing Book
There are several ways to identify a first edition, first printing of a book. Firstly, look at the copyright page some actually have the words first edition, first printing. If it just states first edition look a little further down the page and you may see numbers usually from 10-1 or 1-10 sequence. If the number 1 is there it is a first print. If the lowest end number is 2 or 3 it is a second or third print.
Sometimes the copyright pages states first published in such a year with no numbers showing. Flip the page if there are no further details or numbers then it is a true first edition, first printing. The date must be the exact date at the first edition of the Booker Prize Winner so if a copy has a different date year or states First printed then has the words reprinted a few months later it is not a first print but is classed as first edition. If the copyright page states in association with another publisher like a Book Club, then this is not the true first edition.
Full List Of Booker Prize Winners
1969 Something to Answer For P. H. Newby, published in 1968 by Faber & Faber.
1970 The Elected Member Bernice Rubens, published in 1969 by Eyre & Spottiswoode.
1970 Troubles J. G. Farrell, published in 1970 by Jonathan Cape.
(This title is known as The Lost Man Booker Prize Winner as a special edition due to a change in the rules which meant that a book had to be published in the previous year to be eligible to win the Booker prize. A new rule in 1971 brought about change.
1971 In a Free State V. S. Naipaul, published by Andre Deutsch.
1972 G John Berger, published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
1973 The Siege of Krishnapur J. G. Farrell, published in 1971 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
1974 The Conservationist Nadine Gordimer, Published by Jonathan Cape.
1974 Holiday Stanley Middleton, published in 1974 by Hutchinson.
(Note there were two joint winners in 1974).
1975 Heat and Dust Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, published in 1975 by John Murray.
1976 Saville David Storey, published in 1976 by Jonathan Cape.
1977 Staying On Paul Scott, published in 1977 by Heinemann.
1978 The Sea, the Sea Iris Murdoch, published in 1978 by Chatto & Windus.
1979 Offshore Penelope Fitzgerald published in 1979 by Collins.
1980 Rites of Passage William Golding, published in 1980 by Faber & Faber.
1981 Midnight’s Children Salman Rushdie, published in 1981 by Jonathan Cape.
1982 Schindler’s Ark Thomas Keneally, published in 1982 by Hodder & Stoughton.
1983 Life & Times of Michael K J. M. Coetzee, published in 1983 by Secker & Warburg.
1984 Hotel du Lac Anita Brookner, published in 1984 by Jonathan Cape.
1985 The Bone People Keri Hulme, published in 1985 by Hodder & Stoughton.
1986 The Old Devils Kingsley Amis, published in 1986 by Hutchinson.
1987 Moon Tiger Penelope Lively, published in 1987 by Andre Deutsch.
1988 Oscar & Lucinda Peter Carey, published in 1988 by Faber & Faber.
1989 The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro, published in 1989 by Faber & Faber.
1990 Possession: A Romance A. S. Byatt, published in 1990 by Chatto & Windus.
1991 The Famished Road Ben Okri, published in 1990 by Jonathan Cape.
1992 The English Patient Michael Ondaatje, published in 1992 by Bloomsbury.
1992 Sacred Hunger Barry Unsworth, published in 1992 by Hamish Hamilton.
(Note there were two joint winners in 1992).
1993 Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha Roddy Doyle, published in 1993 by Secker & Warberg.
1994 How Late it Was, How Late James Kelman, published in 1994 by Secker & Warburg.
1995 The Ghost Road Pat Barker, published in 1995 by Viking.
1996 Last Orders Graham Swift, published in 1996 by Picador.
1997 The God of Small Things Arundhati Roy, published in 1997 by Flamingo.
1998 Amsterdam Ian McEwan, published in 1998 by Jonathan Cape.
1999 Disgrace J. M. Coetzee, published in 1999 by Secker & Warburg.
2000 The Blind Assassin Margaret Attwood, published in 2000 by Bloomsbury.
2001 The History of the Kelly Gang Peter Carey, published in 2001 by Faber & Faber.
2002 Life of Pie Yann Martel, published in 2002 by Canongate.
2003 Vernon God Little D. B. C. Pierre, published in 2003 by Faber & Faber.
2004 The Line of Beauty Alan Hollinghurst, published in 2004 by Picador.
2005 The Sea John Banville, published in 2005 by Picador.
2006 The Inheritance of Loss Kiran Desai, published in 2006 by Hamish Hamilton.
2007 The Gathering Anne Enright, published in 2007 by Jonathan Cape.
2008 The White Tiger Aravind Adiga, published in 2008 by Atlantic.
2009 Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel, published in 2009 by Fourth Estate.
2010 The Finkler Question Howard Jacobson, published in 2010 by Bloomsbury.
2011 The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes, published in 2011 by Jonathan Cape.
2012 Bring up the Bodies Hilary Mantel, published in 2012 by Fourth Estate.
2013 The Luminaries Eleanor Cattan, published in 2013 by Granta.
2014 The Narrow Road to the Deep North Richard Flanagan, published in 2014 by Chatto & Windus.
2015 A Brief History of Seven Killings Marlon James, published in 2014 by Oneworld.
2016 The Sellout Paul Beatty, published in 2016 by Oneworld.
2017 Lincoln in the Bardo George Saunders, published in 2017 by Bloomsbury,
2018 Milkman Anna Burns, published in 2018 by Faber & Faber.
2019 The Testaments Margaret Attwood, published in 2019 by Chatto & Windus.
2019 Girl, Woman, Other Bernardine Evaristo, published in 2019 by Hamish Hamilton.
(There were two joint winners in 2019).
2020 Shuggie Bain Douglas Stuart, published in 2020 by Picador.
2021 The Promise Damon Galgut, published in 2021 by Chatto & Windus.
2022 The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida Shehan Karunatilaka, published in 2022 by Sort of Books.
2023 Prophet Song Paul Lynch, published in 2023 by Oneworld.
2024 Orbital Samantha Harvey, published in 2023 by Jonathan Cape.
2025 Flesh David Szalay, published in 2025 by Jonathan Cape.