'Another author': BBC called out by Bernardine Evaristo for dismissive reference, apologises

Author Bernardine Evaristo called out the BBC for a news bit which referred to this year’s Booker Prize as being shared between Margaret Atwood and “another author”. For her book Girl, Woman, Other , Evaristo is the first black woman to win the prestigious award.

On 3 December, BBC news presenter Shaun Ley, when referring to the Turner Prize joint award , compared it to the Booker Prize’s decision to split the award: “Now, this is a bit different from the Booker prize earlier in the year where the judges couldn’t make up their minds, so they gave it to Margaret Atwood and another author, who shared the prize between them,” he said.

In response, Evaristo wrote on Twitter: “How quickly & casually they have removed my name from history – the first black woman to win it. This is what we’ve always been up against, folks.”

When the Prize was announced in October, many had spoken about the harmful effects sharing it might have. In support of Evaristo, author Linda Grant commented on that:

I thought dividing the Booker Prize this year was a serious mistake. The BBC naming the winner as Margaret Atwood and 'another author' is testament to how damaging it has been. All power to Bernadine Evaristo who should have won outright.

— Linda Grant (@lindasgrant) December 4, 2019

Journalist Harry Wallop also commented along with a similar strain:

And this is why the Booker judges - more so than the BBC - should hang their heads. By forcing Evaristo to share the prize with someone already global famous, they denied Evaristo her moment in the sun. https://t.co/1naKEATSth

— Harry Wallop (@hwallop) December 4, 2019

The BBC has since issued an apology , explaining their phrasing as “unscripted” and adding that they have “apologised for the offence caused”.