The shortlist for this year's Man Booker Prize has been announced, but Irish writer Sebastian Barry, who had been longlisted for On Canaan's Side, is not among the six nominated authors.
The shortlisted authors are: Julian Barnes (The Sense of an Ending), Carol Birch (Jamrach's Menagerie), Patrick deWitt (The Sisters Brothers), Esi Edugyan (Half Blood Blues), Stephen Kelman (Pigeon English) and AD Miller (Snowdrops).
Chair of the judges, Stella Rimington, said: "Inevitably it was hard to whittle down the longlist to six titles. We were sorry to lose some great books. But, when push came to shove, we quickly agreed that these six very different titles were the best."
Kelman and Miller are first-time novelists; Barnes has been shortlisted on three previous occasions, while Birch was longlisted in 2003.
The winner will be announced on Tuesday October 18 in London and will receive £50,000.
Each of the shortlisted authors will receive £2,500 and a designer bound edition of their book.
