Who wrote the 1980 Booker Prize winner Rites of Passage!
Booker Prize him in advance whether he had won. His was one of two books considered likely to win, the other being "Rites of Passage" by William Golding. The judges decided only 30 minutes before the ceremony, giving the prize to Golding. Both novels had been seen as favourites to win leading up to the prize, and the dramatic "literary battle" between two senior writers made front page news. In 1981, nominee John Banville wrote a letter to "The Guardian" requesting that the prize be given to him so that he could use the money to buy every copy of the longlisted
Booker Prize in 1971; previously, it had been awarded retrospectively to books published prior to the year in which the award was given. In 1971 the year of eligibility was changed to the same as the year of the award; in effect, this meant that books published in 1970 were not considered for the Booker in either year. The Booker Prize Foundation announced in January 2010 the creation of a special award called the "Lost Man Booker Prize," with the winner chosen from a longlist of 22 novels published in 1970. Alice Munro's "The Beggar Maid" was shortlisted in 1980, and remains