The Man Booker longlist has been announced with Christos Tsiolkas and Peter Carey both scoring spots.
If Parrot & Olivier is successful Carey would be the only author to have won the prize three times - previously winning for True History of the Kelly Gang and Oscar and Lucinda. But even this nomination makes him part of the select group of authors who have been nominated five times - including Margaret Atwood, Beryl Bainbridge and Ian McEwan.
Based on recent form (which has looked for newer authors like DBC Pierre or Aravind Adiga), Tsiolkas must also stand a good chance. There’s stiff competion in the 13 novels listed, including previously nominated David Mitchell for his The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.
While the shortlist isn’t announced until the 7th of September and the winner held over until 12th of October, the longlist usually means a sales spike for all the authors included.