Penguin announces Man Booker finalists

The titles are “The Finkler Question” by Howard Jacobson, “Parrot and Oliver” by Peter Carey and “In a Strange Room” by Damon Galgut, the publisher said in a press statement here.

Six books are on the shortlist of the Man Booker prize this year. The three other titles are “Room” by Emma Donoghue, “The Long Song” by Andrea Levy, and “C” by Tom McCarthy.
The winner will be announced Oct 12 at an award ceremony at the Guildhall in London.
Australian author Peter Carey has won the prize twice before - once in 1988 for “Oscar and Lucinda” and for “True History of the Kelly Gang” in 2001.

South African author Damon Galgut has previously been shortlisted for his book, “The Good Doctor” in 2003 and Howard Jacobson has been longlisted twice before for his novels “Kalooki Nights” in 2006 and “Who's Sorry Now?” in 2002.

Irish author Emma Donoghue is, at 40, the youngest author on the shortlist.
The winner will receive a cheque for 50,000 pounds. Last year's winning novel, "Wolf Hall" by Hilary Mantel, has now sold over half a million copies in Britain alone. Each of the six shortlisted authors, including the winner, receives 2,500 pounds and a designer bound edition of their shortlisted book.

Announcing the shortlist in London Sep 7, chair of judges Andrew Motion said: "It has been a great privilege and an exciting challenge for us to reduce our longlist of thirteen to this shortlist of six outstandingly good novels. In doing so, we feel sure we've chosen books which demonstrate a rich variety of styles and themes - while in every case providing deep individual pleasures.”

The jury for 2010 chaired by former poet laureate Motion, comprised Rosie Blau, literary editor of the Financial Times; Deborah Bull, creative director of the Royal Opera House as well as a writer and broadcaster; Tom Sutcliffe, journalist, broadcaster and author and Frances Wilson, biographer and critic.