The Man Booker Prize for Fiction announced the shortlist for 2018 in London on September 20. Narrowing down the longlist of 13 titles, announced in July, the shortlist comprises six novels that will be in the running for the prize.

The authors on this year’s shortlist include debut novelists Daisy Johnson (at 26, the youngest-ever author to be shortlisted for the prize) and Robin Robertson, for Everything Under and The Long Take, respectively, as well as American writers Rachel Kushner and Richard Powers for The Mars Room and The Overstory, respectively, Canadian writer Esi Edugyan for Washington Black, and Anna Burns for Milkman.

First awarded in 1969, the Man Booker Prize is open to writers of any nationality, writing in English and published in the UK and Ireland and comes with a cash prize of £50,000. While announcing the shortlist, Kwame Anthony Appiah, chair of this year’s jury said it was “the product of a jury working together, a joyful product”. “These books speak very much to our moment but we believe they will endure,” he added.

While the shortlist ranges across a variety of themes, there are some notable omissions from the longlist. Nick Drnaso’s Sabrina, the first ever graphic novel on a Man Booker longlist, failed to find a spot on the shortlist. Belinda Bauer’s Snap, a rare crime novel to be recognised, suffered the same fate. Past Man Booker winner and Golden Man Booker winner Michael Ondaatje did not secure a spot for his novel Warlight, and crowd favourite Sally Rooney’s Normal People is also no longer in the running.

The winning novel will be announced on October 16. The complete shortlist is below:

  • Milkman, Anna Burns
  • Washington Black, Esi Edugyan
  • Everything Under, Daisy Johnson
  • The Mars Room, Rachel Kushner
  • The Overstory, Richard Powers
  • The Long Take, Robin Robertson