Paul Beatty becomes the first American author to win with his book 'The Sellout'

Paul Beatty has become the first American writer to win the Man Booker prize, with his racial satire The Sellout.

The 54-year-old Los Angeles-born writer won for The Sellout, a hilarious book about a young black man who tries to reinstate slavery and racial segregation in a suburb of Los Angeles.

The Sellout beat five other novels, including everyone's favourite Madeleine Thien's Do Not Say We Have Nothing, and Graeme Macrae Burnet's Scottish crime thriller His Bloody Project.

The five Booker judges, who were unanimous in their decision, cited the novel’s inventive comic approach to the thorny issues of racial identity and injustice.

At the awards ceremony, Amanda Foreman, chair of the judges, said the book managed "to eviscerate every social taboo".

She said The Sellout was "a novel for our times" that contained "an absolutely savage wit" reminiscent of Jonathan Swift or Mark Twain.

"This is a book that nails the reader to the cross with cheerful abandon. But while you are being nailed you are being tickled. This is a first-class piece of serious literature wrapped up in a shawl of humour."  She elaborated.

While receiving his prize, Beatty who was clearly overwhelmed with emotion and struggled for words as he began his acceptance speech.

"I hate writing," he admitted later in the speech.

"This is a hard book," he went on. "It was a hard for me to write, I know it's hard to read. Everyone's coming at it from different angles."

This is the third year that the £50,000 prize has been open to writers of any nationality. The shortlisted authors each receive £2,500 (1.2 million Naira) and a specially bound edition of their book. The winner receives a further £50,000. (25 million Naira)

Sales for all six books have already increased significantly, particularly for His Bloody Project, published by the tiny Scottish crime imprint Contraband.

This is the second consecutive Man Booker Prize success for independent publisher Oneworld, following Marlon James's win with A Brief History of Seven Killings in 2015.

Sell Out is Mr Beatty's fourth novel, following on from Slumberland, Tuff, and his 1996 debut The White Boy Shuffle, which explores gang culture in LA.

He has also published two books of poetry, Big Bank Take Little Bank and Joker, Joker, Deuce and in 2006 edited an anthology of African-American humour – Hokum. The Sellout was also handed the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Last year, the Booker was awarded to the Jamaican novelist Marlon James for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings about the attempted assassination of Bob Marley.

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