Frontlist Author | Booker shortlist announced Avni Doshi makes it, Hilary Mantel misses out

The Booker shortlist is out and Indian-origin author Avni Doshi’s book, Burnt Sugar — published in India as Girl In White Cotton — has made the cut. The rest of the titles include The New Wilderness by Diane Cook, This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga, The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste, Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, and Real Life by Brandon Taylor. Two-time winner Hilary Mantel did not make it in the list. The judges include authors Lee Child, Sameer Rahim, writer Lemn Sissay and translator Emily Wilson. It was chaired by editor and literary critic Margaret Busby. “As judges, we read 162 books, many of them conveying important, sometimes uncannily similar and prescient messages. The best novels often prepare our societies for valuable conversations, and not just about the inequities and dilemmas of the world − whether in connection with climate change, forgotten communities, old age, racism, or revolution when necessary − but also about how magnificent the interior life of the mind, imagination and spirit is, in spite of circumstance. The shortlist of six came together unexpectedly, voices and characters resonating with us all even when very different. We are delighted to help disseminate these chronicles of creative humanity to a global audience,” Busby said as quoted on their website. “Every year, judging the Booker Prize is an act of discovery. What’s out there, how can we widen the net, how do these books seem when compared to one another, how do they fare when re-read? These are questions judges always ask themselves, and each other,” Gaby Wood, Literary Director of the Booker Prize Foundation said. The winner will be announced on November 17.