The Man Booker longlist

The Guardian posted the longlist for the 2006 Man Booker prize last night. Click here to see who made it--and who didn't.

Punters' angle:

[Bookies] William Hill made David Mitchell 5/1 favourite for Black Swan Green, [Peter] Carey second for Theft: a Love Story, and Sarah Waters third for The Night Watch at 7/1.

Odds of 8/1 were quoted on Barry Unsworth and 10/1 for Jacobson.

Waterstone's fiction buyer Rodney Troubridge told the Guardian: "It's wonderful to see one of our funniest, most acerbic writers, Howard Jacobson, get listed. The booksellers' favourite will be David Mitchell. The public's favourite will be Sarah Waters."

Yesterday on the blog: The Man Booker Prize matters because it’s so unfair

--Marshal Zeringue