New Zealander Eleanor Catton the youngest Man Booker Prize winner
New Zealand celebrates as 28-year-old author of The Luminaries takes prestigious prize, with fans saying it's like winning Rugby World Cup
New Zealand author Eleanor Catton has become the youngest winner of the Man Booker Prize for , a novel set in her homeland in the 19th century that explores identity, greed and human frailty.
Champagne corks popped as New Zealanders celebrated the 28-year-old's win yesterday, with retailers reporting her book was "walking out the door".
New Zealand celebrates our sporting successes on the international stage with enormous vigour. We should be celebrating this with equal enthusiasm, as it's a truly remarkable achievement
Looking stunned after being named the winner, Catton said her lengthy, complex novel was "a publisher's nightmare".
But she then thanked her publishers for striking the "elegant balance between making art and making money".
The presentation in London drew large crowds to bookshops in New Zealand, which screened the event live.
Prime Minister John Key led the tributes, moving a parliamentary vote congratulating Catton for becoming only the second New Zealander after Keri Hulme in 1985 to win the Booker.
"New Zealand celebrates our sporting successes on the international stage with enormous vigour," he told parliament. "We should be celebrating this with equal enthusiasm, as it's a truly remarkable achievement."
