13 books make Man Booker list
By STEFANO AMBROGI
LONDON (Reuters) - Thirteen books have made it onto the “longlist” for the 2009 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, up from the usual 12, in what judges described as one of the strongest fields in recent years.
The “Man Booker dozen,” as the selection is known, includes two former winners, four previously shortlisted writers and three first-time novelists.
The annual award for the best novel in English by a writer from Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth counts, because it helps the winning book sell tens of thousands of extra copies. An appearance on the shortlist translates into thousands more sales.
Chairman of the judges, BBC broadcaster and journalist James Naughtie, said the list is one of the strongest lists in recent memory, books that readers will want to get their hands on.
Naughtie described the list as “eclectic ... taking us from the court of Henry VIII to the Hollywood jungle, with stops along the way in a 19th century Essex asylum, an African war zone and a futuristic Brazilian city.”
The 2009 shortlist is to be announced on Sept. 8 at sponsor Man Group’s London headquarters. The selection of the winner will be broadcast live on October 6 at a dinner at London’s Guildhall.
The award is judged by a panel that includes a literary critic, an academic, a literary editor and a novelist.
AS Byatt, who won in 1990, and JM Coetzee, winner in 1983 and 1999 have been nominated for their novels “The Children’s Book” and “Summertime”.
The other 11 novels are: “The Quickening Maze” by Adam Foulds; “How to Paint a Dead Man” by Sarah Hall; “The Wilderness” by Samantha Harvey; “Me Cheeta” by James Lever; “Wolf Hall” by Hilary Mantel “The Glass Room” by Simon Mawer, “Not Untrue & Not Unkind” by Ed O’Loughlin; “Heliopolis” by James Scudamore; “Brooklyn” by Colm Tóibín; “Love and Summer” by William Trevor and “The Little Stranger” by Sarah Waters.
LONDON (Reuters) - Thirteen books have made it onto the “longlist” for the 2009 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, up from the usual 12, in what judges described as one of the strongest fields in recent years.
The “Man Booker dozen,” as the selection is known, includes two former winners, four previously shortlisted writers and three first-time novelists.
The annual award for the best novel in English by a writer from Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth counts, because it helps the winning book sell tens of thousands of extra copies. An appearance on the shortlist translates into thousands more sales.
Chairman of the judges, BBC broadcaster and journalist James Naughtie, said the list is one of the strongest lists in recent memory, books that readers will want to get their hands on.
Naughtie described the list as “eclectic ... taking us from the court of Henry VIII to the Hollywood jungle, with stops along the way in a 19th century Essex asylum, an African war zone and a futuristic Brazilian city.”
The 2009 shortlist is to be announced on Sept. 8 at sponsor Man Group’s London headquarters. The selection of the winner will be broadcast live on October 6 at a dinner at London’s Guildhall.
The award is judged by a panel that includes a literary critic, an academic, a literary editor and a novelist.
AS Byatt, who won in 1990, and JM Coetzee, winner in 1983 and 1999 have been nominated for their novels “The Children’s Book” and “Summertime”.
The other 11 novels are: “The Quickening Maze” by Adam Foulds; “How to Paint a Dead Man” by Sarah Hall; “The Wilderness” by Samantha Harvey; “Me Cheeta” by James Lever; “Wolf Hall” by Hilary Mantel “The Glass Room” by Simon Mawer, “Not Untrue & Not Unkind” by Ed O’Loughlin; “Heliopolis” by James Scudamore; “Brooklyn” by Colm Tóibín; “Love and Summer” by William Trevor and “The Little Stranger” by Sarah Waters.
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