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This year's Man Booker Prize shortlist has been described as "an almost perfect mix" of literary greats and unsung talent, with bookshops likely to have "something very commercial and entertaining" to promote when the winner is announced in October.
Foyles' Jonathan Ruppin said booksellers would be pleased to see established authors on the list: "For bookshops, winners with a few books under their belt already tend to be better for sales: this gets people buying more books by that author and, we hope, encourages them to start exploring beyond the bestsellers at the front of the shop."
Janine Cook, fiction buyer for Waterstone's, told the Times: "This years shortlist is an almost perfect mix, with literary greats such as Byatt sitting alongside new and unsung talent such as Mawer and Foulds. But Mantel's Wolf Hall is the standout work for me - a magnificent piece of writing and an incredible literary achievement which to my mind deserves to win."
Mantel is continuing to make the running as the odds-on favourite, with Ladbrokes and William Hill confirming the view held before the shortlist was unveiled earlier today (8th September). Ladbrokes spokesman Nick Weinberg said: "There’s only one novel in town as far as punters are concerned. Mantel has attracted more money than the rest of the field combined." Ladbrokes has Mantel as 2/1 on to win the prize. J M Coetzee and Sarah Waters are available at 5/1.
William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe has made the book 4/5 favourite, and said that it now seemed certain to be the "worst ever result for bookies if it goes on to win, costing us well into six figures. So I have made it the hottest favourite ever".