Children's author lines up alongside a previous winner and a novelist best known for literary fiction on the shortlist for the 2011 Arthur C Clarke award

A shortlist described by one of the judges as "one of the most interesting ... in the last 25 years" has been announced for the 2011 Arthur C Clarke award. The prize, which aims to reward the best science fiction published in the UK, sees a young adult writer up against one best known for "literary" novels and a first-time contender from a small press alongside a previous winner acknowledged as one of the giants of the genre. Unusually, too, for a genre that is still dominated by male authors, two out six books on the list are by women.

The announcement provoked a storm of excitement on Twitter about the inclusion of Patrick Ness for Monsters of Men, the third in a sequence of novels for young adults called Chaos Walking, with the author himself tweeting he was "beside [himself] with how cool" it was to be included. There was also much loud support for the South African Lauren Beukes, whose second novel Zoo City – set in a chaotic Johannesburg of the near-future – has made it on to the list from small independent publisher Angry Robot. Beukes, too, pronouced her inclusion "very cool and just a little overwhelming" before challenging Patrick Ness to "settle this with pistols at dawn".

Tricia Sullivan, a previous winner of the award and one of the leading figures of contemporary SF, also made the cut for her novel about brain-boosting technology gone wrong, Lightborn. So too has The Dervish House by Ian McDonald, one of the most acclaimed SF authors of recent years, which is set in Istanbul and focuses its speculation on the future of the Islamic world.

McDonald himself is often touted as one of the novelists that readers of "literary" fiction should open their eyes too, and this year's list also sees an author coming in the other direction, with a nomination for Generosity by Richard Powers. Powers, a previous winner of the US National Book Award and the WH Smith literary award, has often written about science in the past, and Generosity explores the biochemistry of happiness.

Rounding off the list is a novel that first appeared in the US in 2000, but has only in the last year received the UK publication required for prize contenders. Declare by Tim Powers – a supernatural "secret history" of the cold war – has already won acclaim in a number of different genres, having won both the International Horror Guild award and the 2001 World Fantasy award.

Jon Courtenay Grimwood of the British Science Fiction Association, who is one of this year's prize judges, said: "I think this is one of the most interesting lists in the last 25 years. I think it's a good snapshot of SF as a whole, and I'd have said it shows SF in rude and diverse health!"

The prize administrator Tom Hunter added that the list was "a great indication of just how deep, rich and complex the literature of science fiction can be ... a definite keeper, as they say, and my hope is that 25 years from now people will still be coming back to it as a representation of everything that's best about the diversity and strength of our genre."

Last year's winner was China Miéville for The City and the City, taking the prize for a record third time. This year's result will be announced on Wednesday 27 April 2011, with the winner taking home a cheque for £2,011.

The 2011 Arthur c Clarke award shortlist

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes (Angry Robot)

The Dervish House by Ian McDonald (Gollancz)

Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (Walker Books)

Generosity by Richard Powers (Atlantic Books)

Declare by Tim Powers (Corvus)

Lightborn by Tricia Sullivan (Orbit)