Booker Prize 2020 shortlist announced; Avni Doshi's Burnt Sugar, Diane Cook's The New Wilderness among six finalists

The jury for the 2020 Booker Prize announced its shortlist on 15 September with the acclaimed Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga and -Dubai-based Indian origin author Avni Doshi making it into the top six contenders nominated for the coveted literary honour.

The 2020 shortlist includes:

The New Wilderness by Diane Cook (Oneworld Publications)

This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga (Faber & Faber)

Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi (Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Random House)

The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste (Canongate Books)

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart (Picador, Pan Macmillan)

Real Life by Brandon Taylor (Originals, Daunt Books Publishing)

Of the 13 books long-listed for the award, eight were debut novels out of which four — The New Wilderness, Burnt Sugar, Shuggie Bain and Real Life — have made it into the shortlist.

The jury this year comprises Lee Child, Sameer Rahim, Emily Wilson and Lemn Sissay with Margaret Busby as chair. Of the 2020 shortlist, Busby said, “Every book we have chosen makes one bring all one’s attention, emotions, to understanding what the writer was trying to say.” Wilson noted that it is “exciting to realise that there are so many interesting female authors out there, there are so many interesting non-white authors out there, giving us different glimpses of what the world is all about, telling interesting and vibrant stories.”

Awarded annually to an outstanding work of fiction published in the United Kingdom or Ireland and written in English by authors from across the world, the winner of this prestigious literature prize will go home with a purse of £50,000. Additionally, each of the shortlisted authors is also awarded with a sum of £2,500.

The winner of the 2020 Booker Prize will be revealed on 17 November.