Booker Prize 2020 longlist: Hilary Mantel is up for her third award

The Booker Prize for Fiction has announced its longlist for the 2020 award.

The ‘Booker Dozen’ is made up of 13 novels chosen from 162 published in the UK or Ireland between October 1, 2019 and September 30, 2020.

This year’s longlist was chosen by editor, literary critic and former publisher Margaret Busby (chair); author Lee Child; author and critic Sameer Rahim; writer and broadcaster Lemn Sissay; and classicist and translator Emily Wilson.

Double winner Hilary Mantel has made the list with the third book in her Cromwell trilogy, The Mirror & The Light, while eight of the longlisted books are from debut authors, including the much buzzed about Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid.

“Each of these books carries an impact that has earned it a place on the longlist, 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,” Margaret Busby said in a statement.

“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. The best fiction enables the reader to relate to other people’s lives; sharing experiences that we could not ourselves have imagined is as powerful as being able to identify with characters. As judges we connected with these writers’ well-crafted prose, the mastery of detail, the arresting sentence, the credibility of the narrative arc, the ability to use to the full, the resources of storytelling. Unplanned, our final selection encompasses both seasoned favourites and debut talents ― a truly satisfying outcome.”