Booker Prize 2000: Complete list of winners

Margaret Atwood claimed the prestigious Booker Prize in 2000 for The Blind Assassin, a novel that showcases her masterful command of narrative structure and unreliable narration. The book tells the story of Iris Chase, an aging woman reflecting on her tumultuous life, her sister Laura’s mysterious death, and a pulp science fiction novel that may hold the key to understanding everything she thought she knew. With this win, Atwood joined an elite roster of authors who have captured one of the English-speaking world’s most coveted literary honors.

The 2000 Booker Prize represented a significant moment in recognizing the kind of intricate, layered storytelling that had become Atwood’s trademark. The Blind Assassin weaves together multiple timelines and narratives, challenging readers to piece together truth from memory, gossip, and carefully constructed fictions. The novel’s exploration of sisterhood, class, and the power of storytelling itself resonated deeply with the prize’s judging panel, cementing Atwood’s position as one of contemporary literature’s most important voices.

This win marked another career milestone for an author already celebrated for works like The Handmaid’s Tale, proving that the Booker Prize continues to honor ambitious, intellectually rigorous fiction that expands the possibilities of the novel form.

Fiction

• The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood