Dame Hilary Mantel is tipped for her third Man Booker Prize as the longlist is revealed
- Dame Hilary Mantel could win her third Booker Prize for The Mirror and the Light
- She won the award for Wolf Hall in 2009 and in 2012 for Bring up the Bodies
- There are 13-names on this year’s longlist, which includes eight debut novelists
Dame Hilary Mantel could claim her third Booker Prize after being named as one of 13 authors who are up for this year’s award.
The author, 68, has been longlisted for The Mirror and The Light, having previously picked up the award for Wolf Hall in 2009 and Bring up the Bodies in 2012.
She is joined by a dozen other contenders, eight of whom are debut novelists.
Dame Hilary Mantel could win her third Man Booker Prize after being nominated for The Mirror and the Light, alongside 12 other novellists
Gaby Wood, literary director of the Booker Prize Foundation, said: ‘When the judges had drawn up their longlist of 13 books, one of them said: “Out of interest, how many debuts are there?”
‘We counted. It was more than half the list. That’s an unusually high proportion, and especially surprising to the judges themselves, who had admired many books by more established authors, and regretted having to let them go.
‘It is perhaps obvious that powerful stories can come from unexpected places and in unfamiliar forms; nevertheless, this kaleidoscopic list serves as a reminder.
‘In this year of seismic change, visibility for new books published in the UK has been drastically low.
‘So, however unintended the ratio, it’s especially heartening to know that some authors who have launched their careers in the midst of Covid-19 may now have a chance to reach the readers they deserve.’
The Booker Prize for Fiction is open to writers of any nationality, writing in English and published in the UK or Ireland.
Of the 13 longlisted authors, nine are women and four are men.