There are thirteen books on the longlist:

• Byatt, AS – The Children’s Book
• Coetzee, J M – Summertime
• Foulds, Adam - The Quickening Maze
• Hall, Sarah - How to paint a dead man (Faber)
• Harvey, Samantha - The Wilderness
• Lever, James – Me Cheeta
• Mantel, Hilary – Wolf Hall
• Mawer, Simon – The Glass Room
• O’Loughlin, Ed - Not Untrue & Not Unkind
• Scudamore, James – Heliopolis
• Toibin, Colm -  Brooklyn
• Trevor, William – Love and Summer
• Waters, Sarah – The Little Stranger

The chair of judges, James Naughtie, said:

The five Man Booker judges have settled on thirteen novels as the longlist for this year’s prize.  We believe it to be one of the strongest lists in recent memory, with two former winners, four past-shortlisted writers, three first-time novelists and a span of styles and themes that make this an outstandingly rich fictional mix.

“We considered more than 130 novels (including the work of nine former winners) and found ourselves travelling in a fertile landscape.  We kept discovering new talent as well as reacquainting ourselves with familiar writers, and emerged with a feeling that we were part of an exceptional year.

“Our fiction is in the hands of original and dedicated writers with fresh and appealing voices.  This is an eclectic list, taking us from the court of Henry VIII to the Hollywood jungle, with stops along the way in a nineteenth century Essex asylum, an African warzone and a futuristic Brazilian city among other places.

“These are books that readers will want to get their hands on.

Chaired by broadcaster and author James Naughtie, the 2009 judges are Lucasta Miller, biographer and critic; Michael Prodger, Literary Editor of The Sunday Telegraph; Professor John Mullan, academic, journalist and broadcaster and Sue Perkins, comedian, journalist and broadcaster.

We have to wait until September 8th 2009 to find out which titles make the shortlist.

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