The Bookseller.com

2nd December 2008

Judges unveil Booker shortlist

06.09.07 Philip Jones

Nicola Barker, Anne Enright, Mohsin Hamid, Lloyd Jones, Ian McEwan and Indra Sinha are the six authors shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2007. The shortlist was announced by the chair of judges, Howard Davies, at a press conference at Man Group plc offices in London today (Thursday 6th September).

Ladbrokes has installed McEwan as its 6/4 favourite, followed by Nicola Barker at 3/1. William Hill has opted for unknown New Zealand writer Lloyd Jones' novel Mr Pip, which it has put as 2/1 favourite to win.

Davies said: "Selecting a shortlist this year from what was widely seen as an exciting longlist was a tough challenge. We hope the choices we have made after passionate and careful consideration, will attract wide interest."

The winner receives £50,000 and can look forward to greatly increased sales and recognition worldwide. Each of the six shortlisted authors, including the winner, receives £2,500 and a designer bound edition of their own book.

The judging panel for the 2007 Man Booker Prize for Fiction is: Howard Davies, Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science; Wendy Cope, poet; Giles Foden, journalist and author; Ruth Scurr, biographer and critic and Imogen Stubbs, actor and writer.

The winner will be announced on Tuesday 16th October at an awards ceremony at the Guildhall, London.

The shortlist is:

Darkmans by Nicola Barker (Fourth Estate)
Gathering by Anne Enright (Jonathan Cape)
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (Hamish Hamilton)
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (John Murray)
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape)
Animal’s People by Indra Sinha (Simon & Schuster)

Philip Jones Booker Prize

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