The Guardian newspaper on Saturday February 26, 2000:
"Booker Prize devotees will recall that one source of discontent for the judges is the sheer volume of material they have to read - for, as one of them put it last year (albeit slightly more politely), bugger all. Well, it's just got worse. Currently, publishers are allowed to submit two titles for consideration, causing much jockeying among authors. Under new rules, however, they can be joined by any authors who have previously won or been shortlisted. In other words, if your name's Barnes, McEwan or Bainbridge, you're in - although not necessarily, as in 1998, all at once."