They did it. It's difficult to see how they could have done otherwise; then again, the book is so big these days it comes with its own weather system. The time approaches, of course, when Bring Up the Bodies will no longer be in contention for further literary awards – but with Hilary Mantel last week adding the David Cohen prize, given for an entire oeuvre, to her Costa and Booker wins for her most recent novel, it has not yet arrived. And now the judges of this year's Women's prize for fiction – hitherto known as the Orange prize – have raised the possibility of her having to clear yet another space on her, erm, mantelpiece.

She has pretty stiff competition, though: from previous winners Barbara Kingsolver and Zadie Smith, for example. Smith might have particular reason to feel that NW, her highly ambitious and accomplished novel of London life, has thus far been oddly overlooked. They are joined by other well-known names: Kate Atkinson, whose Life After Life is one of the most striking and substantial of this year's releases so far, and the reliably original AM Homes with her sixth novel, May We Be Forgiven. Also on the list is Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl – already a huge word-of-mouth bestseller.

But longlists are always more interesting for those who are not mentioned and for those with whom we are less familiar. This year we could have seen Pat Barker, previous winner Rose Tremain, Toni Morrison, Anne Tyler, Nicola Barker, Maggie O'Farrell, the Man Booker-shortlisted Alison Moore and Deborah Levy, and JK Rowling, who last year published her first novel for adults, on the list. But the sheer variety of those omissions gives little clue which sort of titles will be favoured.

The new names, however, do suggest an impressive appetite for different kinds of fiction. There is Canadian writer Sheila Heti's self-referential, genre-twisting How Should a Person Be?, which blends fiction and memoir; Ros Barber's novel-in-verse about Christopher Marlowe; a debut novel by Israeli writer Shani Boianjiu about a group of young women conscripted into that country's army; and another debut, Alif the Unseen, by the American G Willow Wilson, which adds a singular dash of science fiction and Islamic theology to the list.

This relaxed attitude towards genre and style – perhaps reflective of the reading public's indifference to or even impatience with slapping labels on novels – together with the number of countries represented makes for a refreshing longlist. It's especially welcome given that the prize had to contend with the withdrawal of its sponsor and is, for this year, being funded by a number of different sources including Cherie Blair, Martha Lane Fox and Joanna Trollope. Prizes, as everyone knows, need money to be able to run; but they also need good books. Bring Up The Bodies is certainly one – and it's in good company here.