Nobel Prize-winning author JM Coetzee was the first author to win the Booker Prize twice but he failed to make this year's Man Booker Prize short-list for his novel The Schooldays of Jesus, a sequel to The Childhood of Jesus.
Paul Beatty, Deborah Levy, Graeme Macrae Burnet, Ottessa Moshfegh, David Szalay and Madeleine Thien are the six shortlisted authors for the 2016 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Their names were announced by 2016 Chair of judges, Dr. Amanda Foreman, at a press conference this morning.
We are delighted to announce our #ManBooker2016 shortlist! Read more here: https://t.co/7ca9stFiW4 pic.twitter.com/v45SXF6WdU
— Man Booker Prize (@ManBookerPrize) September 13, 2016
Veteran South-African born writer Coetzee was widely tipped to make the cut, and few would have ruled out the possibility of his winning - yet again - the Man Booker Award, the winner of which will be announced on October 25.
76-year-old Coetzee won the 1983 Booker Prize with Life & Times of Michael K and he also won with Disgrace in 1999. In 2009, he was short-listed for the Man Booker for his novel, Summertime.
JM Coetzee: not on the short-list
As for the class of 2016, the role of the novel in tackling unfamiliar and challenging subjects and the shortlisted authors’ willingness to play with language and form was noted by the judges. The books range far in subject matter, from murder in 19th century Scotland, to classical music in Revolutionary China.
This is the third year in which the prize has been open to writers of any nationality. The shortlist is an even divide between two British, two US and two Canadian writers. Three novels from Penguin Random House are shortlisted alongside three from small, independent publishers.
Deborah Levy is the only previously-shortlisted author (for Swimming Home in 2012).
The 2016 Man Booker shortlist of six novels is as follows:
Paul Beatty (US) - The Sellout (Oneworld)
Deborah Levy (UK) - Hot Milk (Hamish Hamilton)
Graeme Macrae Burnet (UK) - His Bloody Project (Contraband)
Ottessa Moshfegh (US) – Eileen (Jonathan Cape)
David Szalay (Canada-UK) - All That Man Is (Jonathan Cape)
Madeleine Thien (Canada) - Do Not Say We Have Nothing (Granta Books)
