Drat! I missed out on the Man Booker Prize

Drat! I missed out on the Man Booker prize, again!

Congratulations to Howard Jacobson for his win. Apparently the judges narrowed the final shortlist down to just two books before deciding on Jacobson’s ‘The Finkler Question.’ Andrew Motion, chair of the judges (what a rotten job that must be, having a pile of judges use you as a piece of furniture) refused to name the book that came in second, as he didn’t want the author ‘going to bed and eating their pillow.’

Well, folks, I can officially announce that author was me. I kid you not. The judges reckoned my book, ‘The Jack and Danny Chronicles’ used kink to tackle universal themes. Edward Docx writing in the Observer said and I misquote:

"As all serious artists do, Fabian Black is mining her immediate milieu as a way of directly unearthing the deeper questions of family, society, belief, culture, relationships -- the underlying nature of humanity and kinkiness."

Did I eat my pillow upon learning I came in second? No, but I did eat a rather large Chinese takeaway followed by a tub of Ben & Jerry’s phish food ice cream washed down with a flagon of wine. We all have our own way of coping with disappointment.

Of course, coming back to my version of reality, I didn’t come in second or third or indeed anything, because my style of fiction falls into the category of fiction that the Man Booker judges would categorise as ‘toilet paper’ but I care not. I have no doubt that all those authors who were short listed for this worthy prize will have produced works of noble literature that will stand the test of time. The books will sell in droves and be placed on bookshelves across the world, and some might even get read.

My fiction will never win a prize, never sell in droves, never appear on bookshelves across the world, but that doesn’t mean it has no merit. I know from the emails I get from time to time that my little stories entertain people, make people laugh and upon occasion even cry. All fiction has merit, be it a grand work of literature that explores the underlying nature of humanity or a humble romance story that gives someone a point of  identity and a few moments of pleasant escapism, a release from the stresses of the real world if only for a few moments.


Rumour has it that a panel of indie writers are getting together in order to promote those of us who write in the gay erotica genre. The prize will be called: ‘The Man to Man Fucker Prize’ so get those quills out and start writing! Oh, and on a final note, the judges for this new prize are already looking for a chair of the judges, so if there are any kinksters out there who enjoy being sat on by a variety of people I’d start applying now.