Man Booker prize: David Nicholls, Neel Mukherjee and Ali Smith among 13 names on longlist

Chair of judges, AC Grayling, says it has been ‘vintage year’ for competition which this year includes US writers for first time: The Guardian

Howard Jacobson, David Mitchell and Ali Smith are among the British heavyweight writers who will compete for the Man Booker prize in its first incarnation as a global literary award, it was announced on Wednesday, along with David Nicholls, writer of the bestsellers Starter for Ten and One Day.

Thirteen novels were named on the longlist for the prize, which for more than 40 years has rewarded only Commonwealth and Irish writers. The rules changed last year, sparking fears that it would quickly be dominated by Americans.

In the event, judges chose four Americans: Joshua Ferris, Siri Hustvedt, Karen Joy Fowler and Richard Powers. An almost American, Joseph O’Neill, who is an Irish-born US resident, was also named one of what is known as the Man Booker “dozen”.