Vote for your favourite name in our Booker Prize trophy competition
We asked you to help us name the recently revived Booker Prize trophy. From your suggestions, our judges have selected a final six - and now it’s time to choose a winner
Earlier this year, we launched a competition inviting you to help us name the Booker Prize trophy. The distinctive statuette was designed by the much-loved children’s book illustrator Jan Pieńkowski for the first Booker Prize ceremony in 1969, but it had fallen out of use in the 1970s. Following Pieńkowski’s death last year, we revived the trophy in his honour for the 2022 ceremony, and it will be presented to future winners of our prizes.
But we feel the trophy is missing something: a name. And so, we asked for your suggestions. Almost 800 of you responded, with names including Greek, Roman and Egyptian goddesses, ancient muses, literary characters and - of course - plenty of Booker-nominated authors, past and present.
Entries closed on January 27, since when our judges - 2022 Booker winner Shehan Karunatilaka; publisher and critic Margaret Busby; Gabriel Schenk, grandson of P.H. Newby, winner of the first Booker Prize; David Walser, partner of the late Jan Pieńkowski; and the Director of the Booker Prize Foundation, Gaby Wood - have sifted through the nominations to select a shortlist. They have now chosen six names, and we would like you to vote for your favourite one of them via the poll on our website before Monday February 20. The winner will be announced on Monday February 27.
And the nominees are...
Beryl - after the late Beryl Bainbridge, a Booker Prize legend, who was shortlisted for the award five times, though never won.
Iris - after 1978 Booker winner Iris Murdoch, who was nominated for the prize seven times. Iris was also the Greek messenger of the gods.
Minerva - after the Roman goddess of poetry, wisdom and the arts.
Calliope - after the Greek muse who presided over eloquence and poetry.
Bernie - after Bernice Rubens, the first woman to win the Booker (1970) and Bernardine Evaristo, the first Black woman to win the prize (2019).
Janina - primarily a Polish name meaning ‘God is gracious’, and the female form of Jan, after Jan Pieńkowski, the Polish-born designer of the trophy.
The name that receives the most votes via our form will be the overall winner. Voting closes on Monday February 20.
The person who originally suggested the name that wins the public vote will receive a Montegrappa Zero fountain pen with a 14k solid gold, gold-plated nib (retailing at £640) and a Folio Society edition of Wolf Hall by the late Hilary Mantel (retailing at £85). If more than one person suggested the name that wins the public vote, we will select the winner at random from those entrants.
Terms and conditions can be found on our website.