<p>This year’s longlist for the Man Booker Prize has been announced today.</p>
<p>[Man</a> Booker prize 2011 longlist includes quartet of debut novels | Books | guardian.co.uk](<a href=“http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jul/26/man-booker-prize-2011-longlist-debut]Man”>Man Booker prize 2011 longlist includes quartet of debut novels | Booker prize 2011 | The Guardian)</p>
<p>Many readers who take part in our book club will likely be familiar with the Britain based Booker Prize. The Booker Prize is arguably the most important in the English speaking fiction novel world (surpassing even the Nobel Prize, which is awarded on a general basis for authors, not for specific books) - although it is limited to Commonwealth Nations so American authors are not represented. The long/shortlisted authors usually are from the British Isles, Canada, Australia, Indian Subcontinent, and on occasion South Africa and the West Indies. (American authors have their domestic Pulitzer Prize as their equivalent source of boast.)</p>
<p>I’m a bit disappointed/surprised that Rosamund Lipton’s poignant debut “Sister” didn’t make the cut.</p>
<p>Apparently it seems that Alan Hollinghurst is one of the favorites to advance into the shortlist round in September. Many of these books have yet to hit the stands in the US - but I look forward to checking them out in the upcoming months.</p>