New Zealander · b. 1985
Eleanor Catton won the 2013 Booker Prize for "The Luminaries" at twenty-eight, becoming the youngest author to receive that honor. The New Zealand novelist constructed an elaborate mystery set in gold rush New Zealand, structured around astrological charts. The 832-page novel demonstrated that ambitious literary architecture could still captivate readers and judges. Catton's debut "The Rehearsal" had already established her reputation for formal innovation.