Paul Beatty, Deborah Levy, Graeme Macrae Burnet, Ottessa Moshfegh, David Szalay, and Madeleine Thien have been named to the shortlist for the 2016 Man Booker Prize for Fiction.
This is the third year that the prize has been open to writers of any nationality, and it finds the shortlist evenly split between two British, two American, and two Canadian writers, as well as between Penguin Random House and independent publishers.
"In re-reading our incredibly diverse and challenging longlist, it was both agonizing and exhilarating to be confronted by the sheer power of the writing," said Amanda Foreman, who presided over the group of five judges. "The final six reflect the centrality of the novel in modern culture—in its ability to champion the unconventional, to explore the unfamiliar, and to tackle difficult subjects."
Paul Beatty's The Sellout (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) and Ottessa Moshfegh's Eileen (Penguin Press) represent the U.S. on the list, with Deborah Levy's Hot Milk (Bloomsbury) and Graeme Macrae Burnet's His Bloody Project (Skyhorse Publishing) representing the U.K. David Szalay's All That Man Is (Graywolf Press) and Madeleine Thien's Do Not Say We Have Nothing (Norton, Oct. 11) represent Canada.
Among the authors, Levy is the only one to previously have been shortlisted author, for Swimming Home in 2012. Last year's winner, Marlon James's A Brief History of Seven Killings, was published by Oneworld.
The Man Booker winner will be announced on October 25 at a black-tie dinner at the Guildhall in London. The shortlisted authors each receive £2,500 and a specially bound edition of their book, and the winner will receive a further £50,000.
This article has been updated to include the forthcoming U.S. publication of Do Not Say We Have Nothing, from Norton, on October 11.
