27th July 2017

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The longlist, or ‘Man Booker Dozen’, for the £50,000 Man Booker Prize has been announced, and includes three first-time novelists, four authors from the UK, four from the US, two Irish and two Pakistani writers and one Indian author. Arundhati Roy, who won the prize in 1997 with her debut The God of Small Things, has been longlisted for her second novel.

The list was chosen from 144 submissions published in the UK between 1 October 2016 and 30 September 2017. The judging panel comprised Baroness Lola Young (Chair); literary critic, Lila Azam Zanganey; Man Booker Prize shortlisted novelist, Sarah Hall; artist Tom Phillips CBE RA; and travel writer, Colin Thubron CBE.

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction, first awarded in 1969, is open to writers of any nationality, writing in English and published in the UK.

The 2017 longlist, or Man Booker ‘Dozen’, of 13 novels, is:

Author (nationality) Title (imprint)

Paul Auster (US) 4 3 2 1 (Faber & Faber)

Sebastian Barry (Ireland) Days Without End (Faber & Faber) Read our exclusive interview

Emily Fridlund (US) History of Wolves (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

Mohsin Hamid (Pakistan) Exit West (Hamish Hamilton)

Mike McCormack (Ireland) Solar Bones (Canongate)

Jon McGregor (UK) Reservoir 13 (4th Estate)

Fiona Mozley (UK) Elmet (JM Originals)

Arundhati Roy (India) The Ministry Of Utmost Happiness (Hamish Hamilton)

Read our interview and hear Arundhati read from her book

George Saunders (US) Lincoln in the Bardo (Bloomsbury)

Listen to George talk about his book

Kamila Shamsie (UK-Pakistan) Home Fire (Bloomsbury)

Ali Smith (UK) Autumn (Hamish Hamilton) Read our exclusive interview

Zadie Smith (UK) Swing Time (Hamish Hamilton) Read our exclusive interview

Colson Whitehead (US) The Underground Railroad (Fleet)

Chair of the 2017 judges, Baroness Lola Young, said: ‘Only when we’d finally selected our 13 novels did we fully realise the huge energy, imagination and variety in them as a group. The longlist showcases a diverse spectrum — not only of voices and literary styles but of protagonists too, in their culture, age and gender. Nevertheless we found there was a spirit common to all these novels: though their subject matter might be turbulent, their power and range were life-affirming – a tonic for our times.

Together their authors — both recognised and new — explore an array of literary forms and techniques, from those working in a traditional vein to those who aim to move the walls of fiction’.

Arundhati Roy makes the list with her second work of fiction, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness; Roy’s debut novel won the then Booker Prize in 1997. She is joined by four previously shortlisted writers: Ali Smith (2001, Hotel World; 2005, The Accidental; and 2014, How to Be Both); Zadie Smith (2005, On Beauty), Sebastian Barry (2005, A Long Long Way Down; 2008, The Secret Scripture; and longlisted in 2011 for On Canaan’s Side) and Mohsin Hamid (2007, The Reluctant Fundamentalist). It is a third longlist appearance for Jon McGregor (2002, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, 2006, So Many Ways To Begin).

Three debut novels are recognised by the judges this year, two of them written by the youngest authors on the list: Elmet by Fiona Mozley, aged 29, and History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund, aged 38. The third is George Saunders’ first full-length novel, Lincoln in the Bardo.

Three independent publishers are longlisted: Canongate, Faber & Faber and Bloomsbury. They are joined by Penguin Random House imprint Hamish Hamilton (which publishes four of the 13 titles), 4th Estate, and Hachette UK imprints: Weidenfeld & Nicolson; JM Originals; and Fleet. The latter two are new imprints and this is the first time they have had a title on the Man Booker Prize longlist.

The shortlist of six books will be announced on Wednesday 13 September at a morning press conference at Man Group, the sponsor of the prize. The shortlisted authors each receive £2,500 and a specially bound edition of their book.

The 2017 winner will then be announced on Tuesday 17 October in London’s Guildhall at a black-tie dinner, one of the highlights of the publishing year. The ceremony will be broadcast by the BBC.

Last year's winner was Paul Beatty for The Sellout. You can read our exclusive interview with him here.