Man Booker Prize shortlist includes two debut novels

GlobalPost

The Man Booker Prize released its shortlist on Tuesday, featuring two debut novelists, as well as three books by independent publishers, two former shortlisted authors, and a previous winner of the prize.  

Hilary Mantel, the British novelist whose book "Wolf Hall" won the Prize in 2009, has been nominated again for its sequel "Bring Up the Bodies," which continues to tell the story of Henry VIII’s fixer Thomas Cromwell. 

New novelist Jeet Thayil, the only Indian author on the list, is nominated for his book "Narcopolis," set in opium-riddled Bombay.

Alison Moore joins him as the other first-timer for her novel "The Lighthouse," the tale of a a middle-aged, recently separated man who takes a walking holiday gone awry, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.

More from GlobalPost: Julian Barnes wins Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2011

Malaysian Author Tan Twan Eng, made the long list with his first novel "The Gift of Rain," and is now on the short list "The Garden of Evening Mists," the Los Angeles Times reported

South Africa-born, British novelist Deborah Levy is nominated for "Swimming Home," a portrait of tourists falling apart during a week on the French Riviera, and Britain's experimental writer Will Self, who has published over a dozen books, rounds out the list with his book "Umbrella." 

"After re-reading an extraordinary long list of twelve, it was the pure power of prose that settled most debates," said Judge's chair Peter Stothard. "We loved the shock of language shown in so many different ways and were exhilarated by the vigor and vividly defined values in the six books that we chose – and in the visible confidence of the novel's place in forming our words and ideas."

The winner of the Booker, which was established in 1969, receives a $82,000 prize and huge literary distinction. This year's winner will be announced at a ceremony October 16 in London. 

More from GlobalPost: 'Cooking with Poo' wins this year's Oddest Book Title award

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