M John Harrison, 81, became the oldest author to win the Booker Prize for Fiction last night, for his novel "The End of Everything." The book marks the first science-fiction work to win the prize in its 58-year history.
Harrison's novel is set on the Kent coast and centers on what happens when non-human intelligence takes over. He has written 13 novels across a career spanning nearly as long as the Booker Prize itself has existed.
Asked if he felt vindicated by the award, Harrison said it was "interesting that something that has an SF-adjacent feel can be regarded as a serious book and given the Booker prize." He added: "My problem has always been that I don't believe in genre. I don't believe in it in any way."