The Man Booker Prize longlist, shortlist and winner have been an annual literary event and hotly anticipated talking point for over 40 years, promoting the finest in fiction by rewarding the very best book of the year.

With new technologies advancing the world of literature off the page and into the digital world of e-books, mobile tablets and e-readers, the Man Booker Prize needed a way of staying current and connected to its audience across all platforms.

We responded with the official Man Booker Prize app for iPhone, which was released over a year ago for 2010’s prize, marking a seminal move for the highly respected UK literary prize onto a new platform.

In the lead up to the announcement of 2011’s Man Booker Prize winner, we have updated the iPhone app with this year’s long and shortlist of potential winners. 2011’s iPhone app also features more information and interviews with the authors including videos, extracts from their books and information about the previous years’ titles.  Users of the app can choose to be alerted by a push notification when the shortlist and winners are announced.

The Man Booker Prize iPhone app is also the first literary iPhone app ever to feature a GPS enabled bookstore finder.  This feature tells you where your nearest bookstores stocking this year’s listed books are, as well as providing direct links to purchase the books/e-books online while browsing on your iPhone.

The Man Booker Prize’s move to mobile reaches a whole new audience and offers a fresh and exciting approach for fans of the award.  Our iPhone app demonstrates that the established literary institution is embracing new technologies, and proves that whatever form literature takes it will continue to be culturally relevant in the digital age, encouraging a new generation to explore modern fiction a-fresh.

By Elle Holgate