Just one more day before we know which dozen books the judges have long listed for this year’s Man Booker Prize. It’s the first year in its 40 years plus history that the prize has been open to authors outside the Commonwealth. From this year onwards, the prize could be awarded to any author writing originally in English, irrespective of nationality, so long as their novel has been published in the UK this year. Which means that 2014 could be the year of the Americans with Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch one of the front runners.
But the Booker is well known for springing a few surprises so while I expect she’ll be on the shortlist, the million dollar question is who will give her a run for her money? Anyone like to predict?
The Guardian is running its popular Not the Booker Prize where readers can nominate books that might not be on the official list. Nominations close at midnight (UK time) on 27 July 2014. A shortlist will be published the following day. You can join in the fun via this link. Some of the books with more than one nomination are:
The Incarnations by Susan Barker
Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
Wounding by Heidi James
Cairo by Louis Armand
With a Zero at its Heart by Charles Lambert
The official Man Booker shortlist will be announced on Tuesday 9 September 2014 and then the winner announced on Tuesday 14th October 2014.