James , the retelling of the story of Huckleberry Finn from the point of view of Jim the slave, and a spy novel about eco-anarchists are probably the frontrunners for the Booker Prize after the judges announced an unusual and surprising shortlist. For the first time in its 55 years, the award has five of its six shortlisted books written by women. It is now five years since a female novelist won the Booker despite one of the judges, Sara Collins, saying that much publishing is dominated by women.
The shortlist, announced Tuesday morning, could also be one of the most entertaining for some years. The judges - chaired by Edmund de Waal, probably best known for his memoir The Hare with Amber Eyes - put together a longlist of 13 novels made up of some of the heavyweight books of 2024, and a mix of less recognised books often concerned with huge themes. For the shortlist, out went many of the heavyweights.
Gone were My Friends by Hisham Matar, winner of the Orwell prize for political fiction, Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange, the Native American Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer, This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud and Enlightenment by Sarah Perry, author of much-acclaimed The Essex Serpent. In their place was a shortlist that was probably more interesting. One of the oddities of the Booker literary prize is that it does attract betting.
Even before the shortlist was announced, one brave early bookie was offering odds with James by Percival Everett the favourite by a mile..