Who is Samantha Harvey, the winner of Booker Prize 2024?

In a first for space novels British author Samantha Harvey won the prestigious Booker Prize 2024 on Tuesday for her short novel lsquoOrbitalrsquo which follows six astronauts as they contemplate Earth from the International Space StationHarvey was announced the winner from a shortlist of six authors out of whom five were women ndash a historical feat in the awardrsquos legacyI was not expecting that Harvey said upon learning of her win the first by a woman since Atwood was recognised in 2019 for lsquoThe Testamentsrsquo alongside Bernardine Evaristo for lsquoGirl Woman OtherrsquoWho is Samantha HarveyHarvey is a UKbased author who has written six books till now including the Booker Prize winner lsquoOrbitalrsquo While she primarily writes fiction her only nonfiction novel lsquoThe Shapeless Uneasersquo recounts her experience with insomniaHer debut novel lsquoThe Wildernessrsquo released in 2009 Since then her work has been nominated for and won several literary prizesNovels written by Samantha Harvey1 The Wilderness ndash This novel is written from the perspective of a man who develops Alzheimerrsquos Disease2 All Is Song ndash This novel has a philosophical tone as it examines subjects like morality through the story of two brothers3 Dear Thief ndash Harveyrsquos third novel is written in the form of letter from one friend to another exploring the consequences of a love triangle4 The Western Wind ndash Deviating from her usual genres this novel is a detective story where a priest unravels a murder in the village5 The Shapeless Unease ndash Harveyrsquos only nonfiction book explores her experiences with insomnia6 Orbital ndash Spanning the course of a single day the story tracks astronauts from Japan Russia the United States Britain and Italy as they observe and reflect on their home planet touching on themes of mourning desire and the climate crisisAbout OrbitalJust 136 pages long lsquoOrbitalrsquo is the secondshortest novel to win the award and the first to be set in space according to the Booker Prize FoundationEdmund de Waal chair of the judges described it as a book about a wounded world with everyone and no one as the subject With her language of lyricism and acuity Harvey makes our world strange and new for us he addedHarvey described her work as a space pastoral in an interview with prize organisers after she was named to the Booker longlist I wanted to write about our human occupation of low earth orbit for the last quarter of a century not as scifi but as realism she saidCould I evoke the beauty of that vantage point with the care of a nature writer Could I write about amazement Could I pull off a sort of space pastoral These were the challenges I set myself she addedAbout Booker Prize 2024 shortlistA record five women were in the running for the prize which was announced at a ceremony in LondonThe others were Rachel Kushner for Creation Lake Anne Michaels for Held Yael van der Wouden for The Safekeep and Charlotte Wood for Stone Yard DevotionalPercival Everett rounded out the shortlist with his novel JamesWith inputs from AFPAlso ReadMumbai LitFest returns to NCPA Get ready for a weekend of culture books and stories