The Booker Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards across the world, has found a new sponsor in Silicon Valley venture capitalist Sir Micheal Moritz. It will now be funded by Crankstart, a charity run by Sir Micheal and his wife Harriet Heyman. This was after the previous sponsor, the Man Group withdrew after supporting the prize for 18 years.
This new arrangement will commence from 1st June 2019. Also, post this, the prize will be known by its original name – The Booker Prize. When the Man Group was funding it, it was called the Man Booker Prize.
For now, Crankstart has committed to a five-year funding period with an option to renew this term for another five years.
According to its website, Crankstart has been initiated to ‘supporting the forgotten, the dispossessed, the oppressed, and others where some help makes all the difference.’ It conducts a host of philanthropic activities that include organizing scholarships for low-income households at various prestigious universities across the world. It also contributes tremendously to arts and journalistic organizations that might need support.
Sir Micheal Moritz is a British investor and venture capitalist. He was born in Wales and studied at Oxford before moving to the United States. He worked as a journalist for the prestigious TIME magazine before joining the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, where he has been a partner since 1986. He is also the author of several books.
Harriet Heyman is an American journalist, who has worked with The New York Times. She is also a novelist.
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What is the Booker Prize?
The Booker Prize is one of the most significant literary awards in the world. It is awarded annually for the best original novel written in English that is published in the United Kingdom. The first award was given away in 1969.
Many eminent writers such as Salman Rushdie, V. S Naipaul, Julian Barnes, and Margaret Atwood have received the prize.
