Debutants dominate Booker longlist

NEW YORK: Eight debut novelists came up against veterans Hilary Mantel and Tsitsi Dangarembga when Britain unveiled a US-dominated longlist of finalists Tuesday for its revered Booker Prize.

One of the world’s most celebrated literary competitions tore up the rule book last year by splitting the fiction award between Canada’s Margaret Atwood and Anglo-Nigerian author Bernardine Evaristo.

It courted controversy on this occasion by pitting nine Americans or dual-US citizens against just three Britons and Zimbabwe’s Dangarembga. "There are voices from minorities often unheard, stories that are fresh, bold and absorbing," judges’ panel chair Margaret Busby said.

"Unplanned, our final selection encompasses both seasoned favourites and debut talents -- a truly satisfying outcome." The title of best work of English-language fiction published in the United Kingdom and Ireland has launched careers and caused countless arguments since its creation in 1969.