The Man Booker prize was awarded to John Banville last week for The Sea. The Guardian’s Peter Preston has a comment on why genre fiction is never considered, even with its literary constructs. Does popularity preclude consideration? How many people read John Banville vs. P.D. James? If Dickens were writing today, would he even be considered? (Thanks to h2o lib blog for the link.) Anyone interested in book news from the UK should check out the Guardian online–find reviews, articles, commentary, poetry workshop, and games like haiku competition and poetry mood matcher.

On prizes and other things