Man Booker: Paul Auster tops shortlist

The 70-year-old, nominated for 4321, is up against two other Americans — short story writer George Saunders, for his first full-length novel Lincoln in the Bardo, and debut writer Emily Fridlund with History of Wolves. 

Authors from the UK and the US dominated the 2017 Man Booker Prize shortlist, as the only long-listed Indian writer, Arundhati Roy, failed to make the cut. Roy, who won the literary award worth 50,000 pounds for her debut book The God of Small Things in 1997, had featured on the long-list for her latest novel The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. 

British author Ali Smith makes the shortlist for the fourth time with Autumn, while British-Pakistani writer Mohsin Hamid makes his second appearance with Exit West. 

Briton Fiona Mozley (29) is the youngest nominee with her first book, Elmet. The Man Booker is the world’s most prestigious English-language literary award and the winner is guaranteed a huge increase in global sales that dwarfs the £50,000 prize. 

The winner will be announced on October 17 in London. Previous winners of the prize, launched in 1969, include Ian McEwan, Iris Murdoch and Salman Rushdie.