After coming up short three times—and criticizing Britain’s most prestigious literary award (and its £50,000 reward) as “posh bingo”—author Julian Barnes has won the 2011 Booker Prize. The 65-year-old took the honor Tuesday for The Sense of an Ending, a 150-page novella about a middle-aged man trying to come to grips with his past. Accepting the award, Barnes said, “I would like to thank the judges—who I won’t hear a word against—for their wisdom, and the sponsors for their check.”
