Thirteen novels have been selected for the longlist for this year’s Man Booker Prize. It’s an interesting mix of fiction by debut writers and more experienced names. Former winner Anne Enright’s The Green Road is nominated, as is Did You Ever Have a Family, the debut novel by New York literary agent Bill Clegg, author of the druggy memoir Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man. Booker judge Michael Wood commented on the strength of Clegg’s writing. “People knew who Bill Clegg was and had read stories about him, and I don’t think we expected that much of it when we read it. But it is a very impressive book. Agents and editors know good writing when they see it, but they don’t always write well themselves; this book is extraordinarily well written.”
There are two other debuts on the list, The Chimes
