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Monday, October 15, 2007

New Zealand Author - Biggest Gamble

New Zealand author Lloyd Jones is emerging as a hot contender among betting circles for the Booker Prize (New Zealand Author Biggest Literary Booker Gamble - New York Times). Exerpt from a New York Times article:

"New Zealand writer Lloyd Jones, target of the biggest gamble in the history of the Booker Prize, is hot favorite to land one of the world's most famous literary awards on Tuesday. Literary punters plunged on Jones when he first came into contention as a 20-1 outsider and his odds have now plummeted to a slim 6-4. He displaced as favorite British author Ian McEwan, bidding for his second Booker with the novella 'On Chesil Beach' about a catastrophically shy young couple's wedding night.

"Graham Sharpe, spokesman for bookmakers William Hill, said: 'There has never been a betting plunge like this on the Booker.' 'If Jones wins on Tuesday night, we will be making a six-figure payout to happy literary punters,' he added. Much to his own bemusement, Lloyd Jones was thrust into the limelight when shortlisted for 'Mister Pip,' set at the start of Papua New Guinea's bloody 10-year civil war. It tells the tale of the eccentric Mr Watts, who takes over as village teacher on the island of Bougainville in 1991, using Charles Dickens' 'Great Expectations' as his one and only text for the children."

If there's "betting" for the Booker Prize, could there be "fixing" also? Just asking!

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