a daft error

The Booker Prize people accidentally released the name of one of the short-listed authors as the winner, before the judges even met to decide on which candidate gets the prize (it's here).

This is a terrible thing to have happened and I wouldn't want to be in Yann Martel's (Life of Pi) shoes. (It's that novel about a man and tiger stuck on a raft.)

Why?

Because hope is cruel, that's why.

During one of the awards ceremonies I attended, the nominees for a particular prize were announced by the host. One of the finalists stood up and began walking up to podium, thinking he had won.

It was a sad thing to see him escorted back, red-faced, to his seat.

And then lose anyway.