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Coetzee Leads Heavy-Hitting Booker Prize Shortlist

Veterans outpace first-timers for prestigious literary gong

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 8, 2009 6:14 AM CDT
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(Newser) – JM Coetzee may become the first author to win the Man Booker Prize three times after his fictionalized memoir Summertime made the prestigious literary award's shortlist today. The South African writer's new book takes the form of interviews by a biographer writing about "the late author John Coetzee." But he faces tough competition from Hilary Mantel, whose Wolf Hall, a hulking novel set at the court of Henry VIII, is the bookies' favorite.

As the Guardian reports, this year's shortlist favored veterans over newcomers, with two previous winners in the running for the $83,000 prize. The full list of nominees:

  • AS Byatt, The Children's Book
  • JM Coetzee, Summertime
  • Adam Foulds, The Quickening Maze
  • Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall
  • Simon Mawer, The Glass Room
  • Sarah Waters, The Little Stranger

Hilary Mantel, seen here in 2006, is the bookmakers' favorite to win the Booker Prize for her novel, Wolf Hall.
Hilary Mantel, seen here in 2006, is the bookmakers' favorite to win the Booker Prize for her novel, Wolf Hall.   (Getty Images)
JM Coetzee, who won the Booker Prize for Life and Times of Michael K and for Disgrace, has been shortlisted for his new fictionalized memoir, Summertime.
JM Coetzee, who won the Booker Prize for Life and Times of Michael K and for Disgrace, has been shortlisted for his new fictionalized memoir, Summertime.   (AP Photo/Viking Penguin)
Sarah Waters, seen at a 2007 ceremony, is the best-selling novelist among the nominees. Her novel, The Little Stranger, is a ghost story set in the postwar English countryside.
Sarah Waters, seen at a 2007 ceremony, is the best-selling novelist among the nominees. Her novel, The Little Stranger, is a ghost story set in the postwar English countryside.   (Getty Images)
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An excerpt from Summertime...
Telegraph (UK)

...and from Wolf Hall
New York Review of Books

 
literature • awards • English literature • Booker Prize • prize

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