Six authors shortlisted for Booker Prize

LONDON (Reuters) -- Previous winner Kazuo Ishiguro and first-time novelist Trezza Azzopardi were among six writers shortlisted on Thursday for the Booker Prize, Britain's top literary accolade.

But the early frontrunner to take the 21,000-pound ($31,000) award -- and instant literary fame -- is Margaret Atwood, four-times a nominee whose "The Blind Assassin" tops bookmaker William Hill's list.

The tale of an old lady reflecting on her life, particularly the events surrounding the mysterious death of her sister, is two-to-one favorite to win, followed by Ishiguro's "When We Were Orphans" and Matthew Kneale's "English Passengers."

Azzopardi's "The Hiding Place" was the outsider, given a one-in-seven chance of victory for her first novel about the Cardiff underworld of the sixties.

The Booker Prize's five judges read their way through around 120 novels before coming up with the shortlist.

The award, which often sparks controversy among Britain's chattering classes, will be presented at a glittering dinner in central London on November 7.

"I have never read 120 novels in one year before," Simon Jenkins, chair of the judges, told reporters. "It was not an easy choice to make. We've had some lively and heated discussion."

Jenkins said the six books had little in common, although they were all "in a sense works of discovery."

"The shortlist shows narrative energy, imaginative treatment and original voices from unpredictable quarters."

Few will be surprised to see Japanese-born Ishiguro in the running. If he wins next month's read-off by the panel he will be only the second author to win twice, after South Africa's J.M. Coetzee achieved that honor last year with "Disgrace."

"When We Were Orphans" is the tale of an English detective out to solve the mystery of his parents' disappearance when he was a small boy in Old Shanghai. He won the Booker in 1989 with "The Remains of the Day."

Two Irish writers made the shortlist, Michael Collins for his "The Keepers of Truth" and Brian O'Doherty's "The Deposition of Father McGreevy."

The Booker, which has been running since 1969 and chooses from the best novels in Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth, thrives on controversy.

Distinguished winners include Kingsley Amis and Salman Rushdie, but literary giants like Graham Greene have been spurned amid accusations from critics that the prize too often goes to obscure, second-rate writers.

Jenkins said he believed it was time for the prize money to go up, although the publicity attached to winning is a virtual guarantee of boosting sales.

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Booker Prize for Fiction

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