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Lloyd Jones said he was not crushed by his loss to Irish author Anne Enright at the Man Booker Awards in London today.
Jones was the favourite to win with his novel Mister Pip, set in Bougainville during its 10-year Civil War.
Dubliner Enright won one of the literary world's most prestigious awards, for her bleak Irish family saga The Gathering.
"I'm a little bit disappointed but I'm not crushed," Jones told Radio New Zealand from London's Guild Hall after the announcement.
"It was always going to be a bit of lottery," he said.
He said the Booker Prize short-listing had already had a significant impact on sales.
His book had been sold in 14 countries before the short-listing and now it had been sold to 27.
While his nomination had been a welcome distraction, there was a silver lining in not winning as he would no longer have that huge distraction.
He said it had been a great journey but he was looking forward to going back to his life.
Despite missing out on the prestigious prize, Lloyd Jones is still a winner, his publishing company said.
Mister Pip publisher Penguin Books NZ general manager for trade Matthew Simpson said just making it to the Booker short list gave sales for the book a tremendous boost.
"They have been helped massively by the short listing and by the earlier win of the Commonwealth Writers prize and by its win of the Montana Medal here in New Zealand."
Mr Simpson said Jones' international and domestic acclaim had made Mister Pip "by far the biggest selling novel in New Zealand for some considerable length of time".
"We are immensely proud of him. What New Zealander couldn't be proud of a truly great story that transcends any national boundary."
Jones was the favourite to win the stg50,000 prize (NZ$138,773) with the bookies.
"But the Booker is not decided on what the bookies say -- there is no form guide for the Booker Prize," Mr Simpson said.
Members of the literary community today also expressed disappointment Lloyd Jones did not win the Booker Prize.
"First the All Blacks, and now this," said New Zealand historian and author Jamie Belich on Radio New Zealand, after the winner was announced in London.
Creative New Zealand chief executive Stephen Wainwright congratulated Mr Jones on getting to the short list of six.
"While missing out on the Booker is disappointing, making it to the shortlist was a fantastic achievement in itself," Mr Wainwright said.
"Lloyd keeps producing fresh and original writing. He hasn't been afraid to take risks and it is great that he is now receiving international recognition for his work."
- NZPA
