British Writer Samantha Harvey Takes Home The Booker Prize Award for Her 136 Page Novel Titled Space

British Author Samantha Harvey has won the Booker Prize Award 2024 for her book titled Orbital, which explores the intriguing subject of space.

She was announced as the winner at a ceremony held in London, the impressive takeaway prize being £50,000. She is the first woman to win the award since 2019.

The 136-page story of six astronauts and cosmonauts occurs in a single day. They offer experiences that captivate the heart and mind. The adventurous team circle the earth, witnessing 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets, the diversity of seasons, spinning past continents, taking in glaciers, deserts, the peaks of mountains, and the swells of oceans.

The judges appreciated Samantha Harvey's lyrical language. She helped readers see the world from a different perspective.

Chair of the judges, Edmund de Waal, described Orbital as a “book about a wounded world”.

Orbital is only one of a handful of novels set in space to have been nominated over the years. It is the first space-set winner.

Harvey reflected on her writing process, questioning, “Why would anybody want to hear from a woman at her desk in Wiltshire writing about space when people have actually been there?”

“I lost my nerve with it and I thought I didn't have the authority to write it.”

When asked how she would spend the prize money, Samantha Harvey mentioned, “I need to buy myself a new bike, and it's going to be a good bike.”

The Booker Prize winner has dedicated the prize to “all the people who speak for and not against the Earth and work for and not against peace.” This highlights her commitment to environmental and social causes.