Today's announcement of the Man Booker Prize shortlist caused some surprise, with few of the hotly tipped favourites among the six nominees.
Early favourite, British author David Mitchell, was not included and nor were previous recipients Peter Carey, Nadine Gordimer and Barry Unsworth.
The best known of the shortlisted writers is Welsh novelist Sarah Waters.
Kiran Desai, Kate Grenville, MJ Hyland, Hisham Matar and Edward St Aubyn are also in the running for the £50,000 prize, which is due to be announced on 10 October.
"Each of these novels has what we as judges were most looking for," said Chair of Judges Hermione Lee, "a distinctive original voice, an audacious imagination that takes readers to undiscovered countries of the mind, a strong power of story-telling and a historical truthfulness."
2006 Man Booker Shortlist:
Kiran Desai - 'The Inheritance of Loss'
Kate Grenville - 'The Secret River'
MJ Hyland - 'Carry Me Down'
Hisham Matar - 'In the Country of Men'
Edward St Aubyn - 'Mother's Milk'
Sarah Waters - 'The Night Watch'
