Samantha Harvey Wins 2024 Booker Prize

On 12th November 2024, British writer Samantha Harvey won the Booker Prize for her novel Orbital, a contemplative story set aboard the International Space Station that explores human connections and the fragility of Earth.

She received the prestigious £50,000 prize for Orbital, a novel she describes as a “space pastoral,” capturing the experiences of six astronauts observing Earth’s beauty as they orbit the planet 16 times a day.
The novel, started during COVID-19 lockdowns, immerses readers in a confined space where astronauts face both external wonders and internal conflicts, isolated yet connected by their mission and perspectives on humanity.
Samantha Harvey’s work joins the ranks of previous Booker-winning authors such as Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie, and Hilary Mantel, as the first British writer since 2020 to receive the award and the first female winner since 2019.