Elnathan John, who refers to himself as a “recovering lawyer”, is a Nigerian novelist and satirist. His 2015 debut novel,
Born On A Tuesday, tells the story of a young man’s coming-of-age in Northern Nigeria. The book received critical acclaim and won a
Betty Trask Award in 2017.
The Man Booker International Prize
The Man Booker Prize is a leading literary award, having been in existence for five decades. It brings recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction. The
International arm of the prize is awarded annually for a book
translated into English.
The judges for the 2019 Man Booker International Prize were announced on Friday, 20th July, coinciding with the opening of submissions for
the 2019 prize.
John has been mentioned as a judge to the prestigious prize, along with four others:
- Bettany Hughes (historian, author and broadcaster)
- Maureen Freely (novelist)
- Professor Angie Hobbs (leading academic)
- Pankaj Mishra (author)
John’s works have, in 2013 and 2015, been short-listed for the
Caine Prize for African Writing. John is also a recipient of the
2018 Miles Morland Writing Scholarship, and is currently working on his next book. He lives and works in Berlin.
