The Booker Prize shortlist has been announced, with Indian author Kiran Desai emerging as a favourite to win the prestigious fiction award for a second time. Desai's novel “The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny” is her first in two decades and is among six books vying for the £50,000 prize.
The shortlist, revealed on Tuesday by a judging panel including Irish writer Roddy Doyle and actor Sarah Jessica Parker, features a strong US presence. Alongside Desai, who has long lived in New York, three American authors are finalists: Susan Choi, Katie Kitamura, and Ben Markovits. Two previous Booker finalists also made the list: UK writer Andrew Miller and Hungarian-British writer David Szalay.
Doyle, a Booker winner himself, praised the shortlist for tackling big issues such as migration and class in a “brilliantly human” way. He noted that the books focus on the human story without showing off. This year's list is dominated by veteran authors, with all finalists decades into their careers and most having published at least five books.
The inclusion of three American writers and Desai, who is US-based, may reignite debate about the prize's 2014 expansion to include American authors. However, Parker dismissed concerns, emphasising the importance of global literary diversity. The winner will be announced on 10 November at a ceremony in London.
