Bridgerton actress Adjoa Andoh and comedian Robert Webb will be part of the panel to judge the 2023 Booker Prize
Actress Adjoa Andoh and comedian Robert Webb will be part of the panel judging the Booker Prize in 2023.
Bridgerton star Andoh, 59, and the Peep Show actor, 50, have written and directed productions, as well as serving as literary judges in other competitions.
Webb, known for his comedic partnership with David Mitchell, was also a judge for the BBC Young Writers Award.
Role: Actress Adjoa Andoh (pictured) and comedian Robert Webb will be part of the panel to judge the Booker Prize in 2023
Andoh was one of those shortlisted for the AKO Caine Prize For African Writing in 2016.
She was also elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature earlier this year and an Oxford Visiting Professor of Contemporary Drama.
They will be joined by Canadian novelist Esi Edugyan, award-winning Hong Kong poet Mary Jean Chan and American professor James Shapiro, who specializes in William Shakespeare.
Words: Bridgerton star Andoh, 59, and the Peep Show actor, 50, (pictured) have written and directed productions, as well as serving as literary judges for other competitions.
All the judges are joining the Booker Prize panel for the first time, a spokeswoman for the annual prize told the PA news agency.
President Edugyan said: “I am deeply excited by the opportunity to immerse myself in great storytelling, in its enduring ability to shock, move, devastate and comfort.”
She believes that the “experience, viewpoints and vocations of her fellow panelists will certainly contribute to enriching the conversation.”
Experience: Andoh was a shortlist for the AKO Caine Prize For African Writing in 2016 (pictured left as Lady Danbury in Bridgerton)
Gaby Wood, director of the Booker Prize Foundation, said Edugyan’s two Booker finalist novels, Washington Black and Half Blood Blues, are “magnificent entertainment and subtle acts of reinvention.”
He added: “I have no doubt that his cunning and calm will bring out the best in this glorious group.”
The coming-of-age tale Washington Black, set on a slave plantation, was previously announced as an upcoming Disney and Hulu series for 2023, starring Black Panther actor Sterling K Brown and co-produced by Edugyan.
The 2023 panel will select books published between October 1, 2022 and September 30, 2023 to win the Booker Prize and £50,000.
This year, Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka took home the literary prize with his novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, a darkly comic murder mystery set during the Sri Lankan Civil War.
His independent UK publisher, Sort of Books, has reprinted more than 270,000 copies of his book since the announcement in October.
Winner: This year, Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka took home the literary prize with his novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, a darkly comic murder mystery set during the Sri Lankan Civil War.