Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1007543
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 25 JULY 2018 14 CULTURE The Man Booker Prize includes a graphic novel for the first time ever THE Man Booker Prize long- list includes a graphic nov- el for the first time in the award's history. Sabrina, a graphic novel written by US author Nick Drnaso, tells the story of a girl who goes missing, leaving behind a videotape with clues about her disappearance. The novel uses purposely simplis- tic illustrations to present a story of violence and "fake news" conspiracy theories. Drnaso's work impressed the jury for a prize. This opens new opportunities for the genre which was once dis- missed as "comic books". Chicago-born Drnaso, who is 29, won an LA Times book prize with his first collection Beverly. 'Sabrina' was described as "oblique, subtle [and] mini- mal", with judges saying the "changing shape of fiction" meant it was about time that a graphic novel made it onto the longlist. Judge and best-selling crime novelist Val McDermid said: "We all read it and were blown away by it. The graphic novel has increasingly become front and centre in terms of story- telling [and] we felt Sabrina does just what good fiction should do." This year's Man Booker Prize longlist consists of six writers from the UK, three from the US, two from Ireland and two from Canada. The eligibility rules were changed in 2013 to allow in- ternational authors to be nominated, as long as their book was written in English and published in the UK. The longlist for the £50,000 prize will be whittled down to six in September before the final winner is announced on Tuesday 16 October. The Man Booker Prize has been running since 1969 and is one of the most prestigious awards in literature. Recent winners include Hilary Mantel, Paul Beatty, Marlon James and (last year) George Saunders. This year's longlist: • Snap by Belinda Bauer (UK) • Milkman by Anna Burns (UK) • Sabrina by Nick Drnaso (USA) • Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (Canada) • In Our Mad And Furious City by Guy Gunaratne (UK) • Everything Under by Daisy Johnson (UK) • The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner (USA) • The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh (UK) • Warlight by Michael Ondaatje (Canada) • The Overstory by Richard Powers (USA) • The Long Take by Robin Robertson (UK) • Normal People by Sally Rooney (Ireland) • From A Low And Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan (Ireland) Night at the museum IF anyone is wondering how to spend the night of Friday 27th July, Heritage Malta has an unusual solution to the problem by organising a night of special activities at the Na- tional Museum of Natural History. The few who manage to book on time will have the opportunity to spend the night at the National Museum of Natural History. Museum staff and curators will lead those present on a series of thematic tours of the displays and study collections. Vari- ous talks will be held discuss- ing the role of the museum and its collection, including a number of rare items which are very rarely placed on dis- play. Participants will also have the opportunity to par- ticipate in talks about diverse animals ranging from insects to bats and birds, which make the museum their home. The event will end on the museum roof, witnessing the sun rising over the Maltese Islands, fol- lowed by breakfast. The event will start at 2000hrs and the experi- ence will come to an end at 0700hrs. Tickets, on a first- come-first-served basis, can be purchased from all Herit- age Malta sites and museums at €25 for adults, €21 for sen- iors and students, and €20 for Heritage Malta members. Participants must be 18 years or over. For more information visit Heritage Malta website, www. heritagemalta.org, or the agency's official page on face- book.