“We did not set out to reject the old guard,” said Peter Stothard, editor of the Times Literary Supplement and chairman of the jury for the 2012 Man Booker Prize. “But, after a year of sustained critical argument by a demanding panel of judges, the new has come powering through.” The jury announced the longlist for the prestigious literary prize Wednesday. Notable is the number of new and emerging writers on the list (four are debut novels). Only one previous winner is represented: Hilary Mantel, whose popular Bring Up the Bodies is a sequel to Wolf Hall, which won the Booker in 2009. The prize is awarded to the best novel written in English for a citizen of the Commonwealth. (Therefore, no Americans, and no Canadians were represented this year.) The shortlist of six authors will be announced on Sept. 11, and the winner will be named Oct. 16. What do you think of the list? Leave your comments below.
The longlist:
Nicola Barker, The Yips (Fourth Estate)Ned Beauman, The Teleportation Accident (Sceptre)André Brink, Philida (Harvill Secker)Tan Twan Eng, The Garden of Evening Mists (Myrmidon Books)Michael Frayn, Skios (Faber & Faber)Rachel Joyce, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Doubleday)Deborah Levy, Swimming Home (And Other Stories)Hilary Mantel, Bring Up the Bodies (Fourth Estate)Alison Moore, The Lighthouse (Salt)Will Self, Umbrella (Bloomsbury)Jeet Thayil, Narcopolis (Faber & Faber)Sam Thompson, Communion Town (Fourth Estate)