Booker Prize-winner Paul Lynch’s Prophet Song is most-sold book of 2023

Paul Lynch’s Booker Prize-winning novel Prophet Song was the most-sold book in Ireland and UK in 2023.

Before being shortlisted for the prize in July, Lynch’s book sold 2,643 copies and he captured the 2023 Booker Prize for his fifth novel Prophet Song in November.

Lynch’s novel sold 45,501 copies, pipping Liz Nugent’s Strange Sally Diamond, winner of Crime Novel of the Year at the Irish Book Awards, which sold 42,510. The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, the family saga which won Irish Book of the Year as well as being shortlisted for the Booker Prize, sold 42,072 copies

Lynch was born in Limerick and grew up in Malin from the age of nine months and later on Carndonagh. His ‘Prophet Song’ stood out among an impressive array of literary achievements, showcasing exceptional talent and contributing significantly to the world of literature. He is the sixth Irish author to earn this prestigious Booker Prize accolade.