Aravind Adiga

Earlier this week we carried a report from the U.K. press that said Aravind Adiga, author of White Tiger and recent winner of the Man Booker Prize, had abruptly abandoned his relationship with the William Morris Agency. The implication was that the boy had gotten too big for his britches, what with his fancy award, and had decided unceremoniously to trade up for a more lucrative arrangement somewhere else. Mr. Adiga, whose book was published here by Free Press, was apparently aghast at the item and told a reporter from The Hindu News that the schism with W.M.A. had actually happened many months ago, and that it had nothing to do with his recent Booker win.  read more »

Guardian gossip Tim Walker reported over the weekend that Aravind Adiga, whose debut novel The White Tiger won the Man Booker Prize earlier this month, has abruptly parted ways with the literary agent who got him his £50,000 book deal. Cathryn Summerhayes, of William Morris's UK office, told The Guardian that she has been "sacked," noting that "no reason was given why."

"He just sent a letter to the U.S. office [where he is represented by Jay Mandel] to say that we would no longer be representing him but that we would still look after the book rights," Ms. Summerhayes went on.  read more »

Michael Cader, the man who maintains the subscription-only industry news portal Publishers Marketplace, continues to be vexed by the Man Booker Prize. The committee's insistence on putting forth a "longlist" of 13 titles one month before announcing the actual nominees, and then invariably snubbing the favorite, has infuriated Mr. Cader for years.

The 2008 winner was named last night as he and many other publishing people from the U.S. watched the proceedings on TV at the Frankfurt Book Fair. "Per the traditional pattern, the favorite never wins," Mr. Cader wrote afterwards on his Web site, before revealing that the winner was debut novelist Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger.  read more »