Marlon James receives 2015 Man Booker Prize!

John Crow's Devil Congratulations to Marlon James, who received the 2015 Man Booker Prize for his novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings, published by Riverhead.

After nearly 80 rejections from other publishers, Akashic published James’s debut novel, John Crow’s Devil, in 2005 to wide critical acclaim. We are honored to have Marlon James and his phenomenal debut on our list, and were thrilled to be included in James’s acknowledgments as he accepted this tremendous honor. As Alex Shephard wrote for The New Republic:

James acknowledged that he considered quitting writing after his first novel struggled to find a publisher. Kaylie Jones, the author of six books and daughter of the novelist James Jones, helped convince him to stick with it. James’s first novel, John Crow’s Devil was eventually published and James still seems grateful—he thanked the book’s publisher, Akashic Books’ Johnny Temple, in his remarks.

Marlon James is the first Jamaican to receive the Man Booker Prize, and the first Caribbean writer to receive the award since 1971.

Congratulations, Marlon!

Posted: Oct 14, 2015

Category: News | Tags: A Brief History of Seven Killings, John Crow's Devil, Kaylie Jones, Man Booker, Man Booker Prize, Marlon James