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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesSamantha Harvey’s Orbital won the 2024 Booker Prize, announced on 12 November 2024. It was the first Booker-winning novel set in space. The story follows six astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station over one day as they circle Earth sixteen times.
Who won the 2024 Booker Prize?
The 2024 Booker Prize went to Samantha Harvey for Orbital. The judges chose the novel unanimously, according to The Booker Prizes’ announcement. Edmund de Waal, chair of the judges, called it “In an unforgettable year for fiction, a book about a wounded world.” He also said: “Our unanimity about Orbital recognises its beauty and ambition.” Those are the chair’s assessments, not formal criteria for the award.
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The Booker’s eligibility period covered 1 October 2023 to 30 September 2024, and 156 books were submitted. The prize announcement reported that Orbital had sold 3,500 UK copies between its November 2023 publication and its September 2024 shortlisting, then 29,000 UK copies by the winner announcement on 12 November, including 2,000 during the preceding week. These are historical UK sales figures reported in 2024, not current totals.
What is Orbital about?
The novel takes place aboard the International Space Station during a single day. Its six crew members—astronauts and cosmonauts representing American, Russian, Italian, British and Japanese nationalities—complete sixteen circuits of Earth. The narrative moves between the practical rhythms of station life, contact with family and the crew’s observations of weather, landscapes and a fragile planet. The Booker’s book page describes the crew’s routines and reflections on life and humanity.
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Why is it described as the first Booker winner set in space?
The Booker Prize identifies Orbital as the first winning book set in space. Its setting is not an imagined distant planet but the orbiting International Space Station, where people live and work while looking back at Earth. Harvey described her intention as writing about “our human occupation of low Earth orbit for the last quarter of a century – not as sci-fi but as realism,” as quoted in the prize announcement.
Is Orbital science fiction?
Harvey’s own framing is more specific than a simple genre label. She said, “I thought of it as space pastoral – a kind of nature writing about the beauty of space.” That description helps explain the book’s emphasis on the view of Earth and the crew’s reflective attention to it, alongside the realities of life in orbit. The author’s stated intention does not prevent readers or booksellers from categorizing the novel differently.
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How long is the book?
Page counts vary by edition. The Booker’s 2024 announcement described Orbital as 136 pages and a 24-hour narrative, calling it the second-shortest Booker winner and the shortest book on that year’s shortlist. Grove Atlantic lists its US hardcover and paperback editions at 224 pages each. These figures refer to different descriptions and editions, not a single universal page count.
| Edition | Publication date | ISBN | US list price on publisher page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grove Atlantic US hardcover | 5 December 2023 | 978-0-8021-6154-3 | $24 |
| Grove Atlantic US paperback | 29 October 2024 | 978-0-8021-6362-2 | $17 |
Edition details are from Grove Atlantic’s listing (accessed 2026); listed prices and availability can change.
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