Highly regarded as the Oscars of the book world, The Booker Prize celebrates the best in world fiction, championing the careers of international writers and unique voices from across cultures. For the International Booker Prize 2024 ceremony, The Booker Prize Foundation has announced fashion house, Maison Valentino as headline sponsor.

Sharing in a joint mission to champion excellence in inclusivity in art and storytelling, the partnership aims to give the world’s best storytellers the cultural status they deserve.

Each year the International Booker Prize introduces readers to the best novels and short story collections from around the globe that have been translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland. This year, the shortlist includes work from six countries, translated from six languages, and ‘interweaves the intimate and political in radically original ways’.

Maison Valentino has a strong connection to the literary world, known for being at the forefront of culture and art. The fashion house has worked with many authors nominated for the Booker Prizes, including Hanya Yanagihara, Leila Mottley, Elif Shafak and Mieko Kawakami.

For many years, Valentino has exhibited a commitment to storytelling and has re-envisioned the traditional means of fashion communication through campaigns that honour story, words and all that intertwines art and literature.

Maison Valentino will sponsor the International Booker Prize 2024 ceremony, held on 21 May and will help to establish the donation of 500 sets of the six books shortlisted for the 2024 prize to libraries across the UK. Libraries are a key partner for the Booker Prize and by donating new works of the world’s best translated fiction the organisation hopes to inspire more readers.

This foundation is also partnering with English PEN on a new round of its PEN Presents programme, which supports emerging translators. While Crankstart, a charitable foundation, remains the core funder of the Booker Prizes. 

The Booker Prize 2024 ceremony will be live-streamed on YouTube with a stream hosted by popular Book-tuber Jack Edwards.