Man Booker shortlist favours first time novelists

Stephen Kelman is shortlisted for his debut novel Pigeon English, a story of teengage gang crime in London which draws parallels with the murder of Damilola Taylor.

Journalist and first time novelist A D Miller is also on the shortlist for Snowdrops, a chilling psychological thriller set in wintertime Moscow.

Both Kelman and Miller appeared at the Edinburgh International Book Festival this August, and both are in the running for our Newton First Book Award, which celebrates new fiction at the Festival.

The Man Booker Prize shortlist, which was selected by a panel of judges headed by Stella Rimmington, also features Carol Birch, who has previously been longlisted for the prize, and Julian Barnes who has been on the shortlist three times before, plus Patrick deWitt and Esi Edugyan.

The winner, who will receive a prize of £50,000, will be announced on 18 October.