A Booker Fills the Diary
A booker arranges bookings. In entertainment it is a distinct profession, and in Britain the name also belongs to a famous literary prize.
A booker is someone who arranges bookings — of acts, rooms, travel or advertising. In music and comedy it is a specific job: the booker decides who plays a venue and on what night, which makes them one of the more quietly powerful figures in an industry full of loud ones. The Booker Prize, by contrast, is named after a food wholesaler that first sponsored it.
- Someone who arranges bookings. *The club's booker.*
- A model or talent agent. *A modelling booker.*
- Booker Prize — the British literary award. *Shortlisted for the Booker.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | booker | A venue booker. |
| Plural | bookers | Festival bookers. |
| Verb | book | Book the hall. |
| Noun | booking | A confirmed booking. |
| Related | promoter | A concert promoter. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Send the demo to the booker.Live music.
- The booker handles the model's diary.Fashion.
- The novel won the Booker.The prize, named for its first sponsor.
Meanings of *book*
- Reserve — book a table
- Record officially — the referee booked him
- Charge with an offence — booked at the station
- Bookmaker — one who takes bets
- By the book — strictly according to the rules
From *book*, Old English *boc*, related to *beech*, possibly because early runes were carved on beech wood. The verb sense of reserving comes from writing a name in a register.
Why does *book* mean reserve?
Because a reservation was written into a register. The same logic gives the football sense of a player being booked.
Is the Booker Prize named after a person?
No. It was named after Booker McConnell, the food wholesaling company that sponsored it from 1969.