Who will take the Man Booker biscuit?

The literary world is buzzing with speculation following today's announcement of the Man Booker 2011 shortlist. Here at Festival HQ, the team are already debating the relative merits of each work - and bets (in the shape of home-baked biscuits) are being feverishly placed. Festival Manager Christin Stein gets under the covers of the six titles making the shortlist.

The debate is on:

the six titles making the

Man Booker 2011 shortlist

The Booker is always good for a shocker – for me out with the old, in with the new seems to be what this year’s shortlist is all about…

My favourite cover vote is with The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt, with its wonderfully dark, black and red design. Not to forget the story’s very intriguing premise of two brothers hired as killers during the Gold Rush on the American West coast – sounds like something the Coen brothers could put on film and a book I certainly can’t wait to get stuck in.

At the other end of the geographical scale, Mother Russia definitely is ready for the literary spotlight. I just read the thrilling Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith, who will share the platform at the Festival with the now Booker shortlisted author A D Miller. Needless to say that his Snowdrops is at the top of my reading pile!

To take a literary journey through the 19th century I think Jamrach’s Menagerie by Carol Birch is a great read, as young Jaffy Brown finds himself aboard a ship to the Dutch East Indies from London. An epic novel in every way, and I found it particularly enthralling to read while on the road.

In the category of intriguing characters, Esi Edugyan, Canadian author of Half Blood Blues, for me created the frontrunner – naming him Hieronymous Falk and making him a jazz trumpeter is too good a combination to dismiss. I can’t wait to make his acquaintance on the page.

A few months back I was delighted to read advance copies of Sarah Winman’s wonderful When God Was a Rabbit and Stephen Kelman’s mesmerizing Pigeon English – and it is great that they will be joining the Festival to discuss their books. Celebrating a debut novel, as the Booker judges chose to do for Stephen Kelman, is incredibly encouraging to see, especially for all the UK writing talent out there.

Personally I was very pleased with the inclusion of The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. I remember seeing him in an event at the Festival a few years back and he was just magnificent. If the bookies are right his Booker luck might turn this year and he could walk away with the prize on the night…

Luckily enough Festival goers will have the chance to see a selection of the short listed authors discuss their work with Man Booker Prize Literary Director Ion Trewin in an event on Saturday 15 October – just three days before the final winning announcement with plenty of excitement still in the air!

For now it’s congratulations to the short listed authors – and no matter who will be lucky on the night, I think the true winner will be fiction. Readers will enjoy the debate of controversial choices, grave omissions, clear frontrunners, and most importantly some cracking good writing.

Christin Stein

Festival Manager

Join Ion Trewin and some of the shortlisted authors live at the Festival to discuss and debate the prize in our special Man Booker Prize Shortlist Event

And find out more about all the titles and authors on the Man Booker Prize website