Books & Bookmen
■ THIS week’s ceremony in Bloomsbury for the Women’s prizes for fiction and non-fiction includes a one-off award to Bernardine Evaristo for “outstanding contribution”, in celebration of the women-only novel prize’s 30th birthday.
It’s worth £100,000 – more than three times the other prizes – thanks to sponsorship from Bukhman Philanthropies, a foundation funded by one of the billionaire Bukhman brothers (Russian-born Israelis who made their fortune in gaming).
The very acceptable perk honours Evaristo’s do-gooding work, including serving as president of the Royal Society of Literature, as well as her books. But is it also a way of saying sorry for never giving her the main prize?