Next year nominations for Man Booker Prize will not be limited to works by citizens of Britain, its erstwhile territories, Ireland etc. It will be open to any fictional works in English by any citizen of any country. This is being seem by many as opening the door to an American invasion, denying English novels from countries like India, Canada, or African countries their only chance to find broader readership. Personally I would say the charm of the prize will no longer be there. I just don't understand why so eager to go international like so many prizes while giving up its uniqueness.
I like the idea. It makes the prize more competitive, and as a result, it's more prestigious. You also have a wider pool of good writers, which is always a good thing. I don't see any reason why America will dominate this award in the coming years. Granted, this year there were 3 Americans, though I think 2 of them were born outside the US. I think this was just a weird year for the prize since it's the first year with the new rule. More and more novels from different countries will be submitted for consideration in the coming years, so I don't see any one country dominating.
