The wound from a paper cut is surprisingly painful, and the person feeling the sting after the Man Booker shortlist was announced is Paul Kingsworth. Last night at the Serpentine Gallery party it became clear that the judges argued fiercely over which six of the 13 long-listed would make the cut.
“It took them three hours and 40 minutes, which I think is a record,” said Ion Trewin, convener of the prize. It turned out that Kingsworth’s The Wake, an extraordinary novel set in the 11th century, was the seventh book.
This year the judges are AC Grayling, Jonathan Bate, Alastair Niven, Sarah Churchwell, Daniel Glaser and Erica Wagner. According to one judge, nearly half wanted The Wake but alas there was no slot for the book from Unbound, the newish crowd-funded publisher.
The two British authors shortlisted — Howard Jacobson and Ali Smith — were at the party. Asked about the Scottish issue, Smith — Scottish-born — simply replied: “My lips are sealed.” Jacobson was delighted to be on the shortlist again, though he added that he rarely reads his reviews as “they can be so hurtful”.
