These are the novels on the Booker Prize longlist

Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror & The Light is among the novels longlisted for this year’s Booker Prize.

It is the third book in the author’s Cromwell trilogy, and was selected for its “masterful exhibition of sly dialogue and exquisite description,” judges said.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mantel has previously won the prize twice - for the first two novels in the trilogy, Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies.

The longlist will be whittled down from 13 to a shortlist of six in September.

British nominees this year include Gabriel Krauze, Douglas Stuart and Sophie Ward.

Zimbabwean writer Tsitsi Dangarembga was nominated, like Mantel, for the third novel in her own trilogy entitled This Mournable Body.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

This year’s longlist - nicknamed Booker’s dozen - features eight debut novels.

The prize, which has been presented since 1969, was last year jointly won by Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo.

The annual longlist was compiled from 162 English-language novels published in the UK or Ireland.Margaret Busby, chair of the 2020 judges, said that each of the titles was “deserving of wide readership”.

“Included are novels carried by the sweep of history with memorable characters brought to life and given visibility, novels that represent a moment of cultural change, or the pressures an individual faces in pre and post-dystopian society,” she said “Some of the books focus on interpersonal relationships that are complex, nuanced, emotionally charged. There are voices from minorities often unheard, stories that are fresh, bold and absorbing.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The shortlist of six books will be announced on September 15 with the £50,000-prize winning author being revealed in November.

The 2020 Booker Prize longlist in full:Diane Cook – The New WildernessTsitsi Dangarembga – This Mournable BodyAvni Doshi – Burnt SugaGabriel Krauze – Who They WasHilary Mantel – The Mirror & The LightColum McCann – ApeirogonMaaza Mengiste – The Shadow KingKiley Reid – Such a Fun AgeBrandon Taylor – Real LifeAnne Tyler – Redhead by The Side of The RoadDouglas Stuart – Shuggie BainSophie Ward – Love and Other Thought ExperimentsC Pam Zhang – How Much of These Hills is Gold