Man Booker prizewinners criticise decision to allow US writers to enter

Peter Carey calls rule change ‘exercise in corporate branding’ and Julian Barnes says it is ‘daft’

Peter Carey and Julian Barnes have shared their doubts about the future of the Man Booker prize over its decision to allow American writers to enter, with Carey calling it “an exercise in global corporate branding” and Barnes labelling it “daft”.

Speaking at an event to mark 50 years of the prize at the Southbank Centre in London, the Australian author Carey – who won the prestigious literary prize for Oscar and Lucinda in 1988 and True History of the Kelly Gang in 2001 – said he felt the rule change had reduced the chances for Commonwealth authors.

Related: British writers can’t win the big US prizes, so why can Americans win the Booker? | Tibor Fischer

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