Alan Garner on Lord of the Flies

In the latest issue of British Vogue, the Booker Prize finalists discuss their literary influences. Alan Garner, shortlisted for Treacle Walker, chose Lord of the Flies as one of his three favourite books of all time. He calls Golding’s debut novel the ‘direct cause of [his] becoming a writer’. Garner, perhaps best known for his writing for children, is the oldest nominated author in Booker Prize history. In 1980, Golding became the oldest winner of the Booker Prize, until Margaret Atwood won in 2019 for The Testaments.