British author Samantha Harvey has won the Booker Prize for her book Orbital, beating Dutch hopeful Yael van der Wouden who was nominated for her post-World War II novel The Safekeep.

Van der Wouden is the first Dutch author to have been included in the prestigious Booker Prize shortlist. She received glowing reviews for her debut novel which explores the love between two women against the background of the Dutch appropriation of Jewish property after WWII, and the subsequent refusal of local authorities to return it to survivors.

Van der Wouden, who studied in the United States, has previously written short and narrative fiction in English, and wrote the novel in English.

Dutch author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld (1991) won the International Booker Prize for the best novel in translation with her debut novel The Discomfort of Evening (De avond is ongemak) in 2020.