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Literary publishers are facing tough decisions as they begin the process of selecting submissions for the first year of the Man Booker Prize under its new rules.
The Man Booker changes allow entry for books by any author writing in English, meaning for the first time that American authors are eligible for submission. Imprints also have to deal with a different number of submissions, with each imprint allowed only one submission rather than the previous two, but those who have seen one or two authors longlisted in the past five years are allowed two submissions, three or four longlistings three submissions, and five or more longlistings four submissions. Publishers can still nominate books by call-in once submissions have closed, and authors who have been previously shortlisted can automatically submit new titles.
Fourth Estate editorial director Clare Reihill said that allowing American authors to enter was adding difficulties to the selection process. She said: "We publish probably more American books than any other list in London, people like Franzen, Eugenides and Chabon. In some ways, that's an opportunity. But it's also very difficult when you have a lot of great books. The prize has changed from something that was just our own to something very different."
Another editor at a major publisher, who preferred to speak anonymously, said: "We're still getting our head round the rule changes. But our general worry is that now the field has opened up and you know some big names are going to be eligible, how do you also find room for the smaller names that deserve a chance?"
Anne Meadows, assistant editor at Granta, which won last year's Man Booker Prize with Eleanor Catton's The Luminaries, said: "Due to our spots on the longlist in previous years we have two submissions this year. I don't know if its entirely fair that some imprints are now allowed to submit more than others, but those are the rules and we have to abide by them." She added: "Selecting books to submit every year is difficult and we take it very seriously. Ion Trewin said he felt the changes might stop weaker books being submitted, but we don't submit, or publish, anything that we don't think is a strong book."
Alexandra Pringle, editor-in-chief of Bloomsbury, said: "We are in the lucky position of having the maximum number of submissions, but the fact we also have a strong American list means we have more books to choose from, so it all evens out. It's always incredibly hard selecting submissions."
She added: "People are going to be looking at those big books, like Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch (Little, Brown), but who knows? It might be rather brilliant if the judges chose a particularly English novel, because everyone is expecting an American book."
The final deadline for entries is 14th March 2014, for books published between 1st October 2013 and 30th September 2014. The winner, who will receive a £50,000 prize, will be announced later next year.