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October 18 UPDATE:
The winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize is THE SENSE OF AN ENDING by Julian Barnes

September 6 UPDATE:
The Shortlist has been announced (3:16 am PST):

August 11 UPDATE:
Walden Pond Books has U.K. editions of Man Booker Prize nominated titles not yet released in the U.S.
Call 510-832-4438 to reserve your copies.

2011 Man Booker Prize Shortlist Announcement:
6 September 2011 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Julian Barnes, Carol Birch, Patrick deWitt, Esi Edugyan, Stephen Kelman and A.D. Miller are today, Tuesday 6 September, announced as the six shortlisted authors for the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

The judges’ selection includes two first time novelists - Stephen Kelman and A.D. Miller – while four of the books are from independent publishers. Of the six writers, two have enjoyed success with the prize in the past. Julian Barnes has been shortlisted three times for Arthur and George (2005), England, England (1998) and Flaubert’s Parrot (1984), while Carol Birch was longlisted in 2003 for Turn Again Home. Two Canadian writers feature on the shortlist - Patrick deWitt and Esi Edugyan – along with four British novelists.

The shortlist was announced by Chair of Judges, author and former Director-General of MI5 Dame Stella Rimington, at a press conference held at Man’s London headquarters.

The six books, selected from the longlist of 13, are:
• WINNER:Julian Barnes: The Sense of an Ending
• Carol Birch: Jamrach’s Menagerie
• Patrick deWitt: The Sisters Brothers
• Esi Edugyan: Half Blood Blues
• Stephen Kelman: Pigeon English
• A.D. Miller: Snowdrops

Chair of judges, Dame Stella Rimington, comments: “Inevitably it was hard to whittle down the longlist to six titles. We were sorry to lose some great books. But, when push came to shove, we quickly agreed that these six very different titles were the best.”

If you see a book listed here that you know you've just got to read immediately - call us at 510-832-4438 and we'll hold that title for you at the front counter or ship directly to your home.

The contents of this page are the property of Walden Pond Books.
Express your appreciation for this list by purchasing these titles
at Walden Pond Books or your local independent bookstore
(rather than corporate chain stores and online conglomerates).

• Man Booker Prize on Twitter (Twitter, 18 October 2011)
• This Year's Booker Rumpus: Just As Ridiculous As Every Other Year's Booker Rumpus (Alex Massie, The Spectator, 17 October 2011)
• Man Booker Prize podcast events (Soundcloud, 18 October 2011)
• How "readable" are this year's Booker Prize books? (BBC Channel 4 News, 18 October 2011)
• 2011 Man Booker Prize author interviews and book extracts (BBC News, Today, 18 October 2011)
• At a glance: Man Booker shortlist 2011 (BBC News, 18 October 2011)
• Man Booker Prize 2011 shortlist announced (The Man-Booker Prize web site)
• Care to join in on 2011 Booker Prize speculation and discussion? (The Man-Booker Prize web site)
• How the Man Booker Prize for Fiction transforms the fortunes of writers (The Man-Booker Prize web site).
• Man Booker prize 2011 Shortlist: What the critics have to say (The Omnivore).
• Man Booker prize 2011 : Place your bets (Ladbrokes).
• Man Booker prize 2011: The shortlist in pictures (The Guardian).
• Man Booker Prize shortlist 2011: includes current bookseller sales data for the 2011 longlist (The Guardian).
• Booker Prize Cheat Sheet (The Daily Beast).

THE 2011 MAN BOOKER PRIZE LONGLIST
(arranged by U.S. publication date)

(Seren) U.S. RELEASE TBA U.K. EDITION SOLD OUT	THE LAST HUNDRED DAYS by Patrick McGuinness Romania is in crisis, the shops are empty and old Bucharest vanishes under the onslaught of Ceaucescu's demolition gangs. Paranoia is pervasive and secret service men lurk in the shadows. Patrick McGuinness creates an absorbing sense of time and place as the city struggles to survive this intense moment in history. He evokes a world of extremity and ravaged beauty from the viewpoint of an outsider uncomfortably, and often dangerously, close to the eye of the storm as the 1980s socialist regime crumbles to a bloody end.
(Sandstone) U.S. RELEASE TBA U.K. EDITION SOLD OUT	THE TESTAMENT OF JESSIE LAMB by Jane Rogers Women are dying in their millions. Some blame scientists, some see the hand of God, some see human arrogance reaping the punishment it deserves. Jessie Lamb is an ordinary girl living in extraordinary times: as her world collapses, her idealism and courage drive her towards the ultimate act of heroism. Set just a month or two in the future, in a world irreparably altered by an act of biological terrorism, The Testament of Jessie Lamb explores a young woman's determination to make her life count for something, as the certainties of her childhood are ripped apart. "You'll be blown away by this new novel by Jane Rogers. . . The scary thing about this novel is that the questions it raises are so close to home. Must women always be the victims and the fall guys? What happens once we accept that individuals can be sacrificed? Can one person make a difference? The novel does not set up an elaborate apocalypse, but astringently strips away the smears hiding the apocalypses we really face. Like Jessie's, it is a small, calm voice of reason in a nonsensical world." — The Independent (U.K.).
(Chatto & Windus) U.S. RELEASE TBA U.K. EDITION IN STOCK	DERBY DAY by D. J. Taylor It is Derby Day, the day of England's richest horse race, one of the most iconic events of the Victorian sporting and social calendars. For months people have been waiting and plotting for this day. Everywhere money jingles and plans are laid. Uniting them all is the champion horse Tiberius, on whose performance half a dozen destinies depend. "Here is an intelligent novel which is also a genuine page-turner. Truly a terrific read!" — The Daily Express (U.K.). "Derby Day is a triumphant success, and a great reminder of why Wilkie Collins, Dickens and Trollope, while writing carefully plotted novels, often with a strong element of the thriller or the whodunnit, were never forced into the tedium of outlining police procedure. Taylor glories in the fact that his tightly plotted story all hangs on the full-blown characters he so exuberantly paints. In this unputdownable Victorian romp he enjoyably proves himself to be one of the finest of our 21st-century novelists." — The Financial Times (U.K.).
(Serpent's Tail) U.S. RELEASE TBA U.K. EDITION SOLD OUT	HALF BLOOD BLUES by Esi Edugyan Hiero is a black jazz trumpeter extraordinaire. Only 19, he is a member of the Hot Time Swingers, a popular jazz band forbidden to play live in late 1930s Berlin because the Nazis have banned their "degenerate" music. Escaping to Paris with two other African American band members, Hiero is captured by the Gestapo and disappears. Fifty years later, his band mate, Sid Griffiths - the narrator and conscience of the novel - details the friendships, love affairs, and treacheries that led to Hiero’s horrific fate. From the smoky bars of pre-war Berlin to the salons of Paris, Sid leads the reader through a fascinating, little-known world, and into the heart of his own guilty conscience. "A lyrical, complex, layered narrative of friendship, betrayal, and jazz. . . The language in Half Blood Blues is exquisite; the characters are distinct and resonant. . . Edugyan brings the scenes she describes to vibrant life, whether it’s musicians playing forbidden music in the depths of Berlin or Griffiths, aged and worn, shuffling to answer his front door in Baltimore." — Global Comment. "A truly beautiful novel with perfect pitch, and brilliantly in tune with the diction, musicality, suffering and dignity of Black jazz musicians trying to survive in France and Germany during World War Two. . . It is both taut and expansive, like perfect jazz. Exquisite language, throughout. And did I say beautiful?" — Lawrence Hill.
(Knopf) U.S. EDITION IN STOCK U.K. EDITION SOLD OUT	WINNER! THE SENSE OF AN ENDING by Julian Barnes Tony Webster and his clique first met Adrian Finn at school. Together they navigated gawky adolescence, trading in affectations, in-jokes, rumor and wit. They swore to stay friends forever. Until Adrian's life took a turn into tragedy, and all of them, especially Tony, moved on and did their best to forget. But now, decades later, an unexpected bequest leads Tony on a dogged search through a past suddenly turned murky. The story of a man coming to terms with the mutable past, Julian Barnes' new novel is laced with his trademark precision, dexterity and insight. "Barnes has effectively doubled the length of the book by giving us a final revelation that obliges us to reread it. Barnes' story is a meditation on the unreliability and falsity of memory; on not getting it the first time round - and possibly not even the second, either. Barnes' revelation is richly ambiguous." — The Evening Standard (U.K.). "The book is a masterpiece by any measure. . . it becomes a psychological thriller of extraordinary technical virtuosity." — Gaby Wood, The Daily Telegraph (U.K.). "It would be a mistake to dismiss this as a mere psychological thriller. . . Its effect is disturbing - all the more so for being written with Barnes’ habitual lucidity. His reputation will surely be enhanced by this book. Do not be misled by its brevity. Its mystery is as deeply embedded as the most archaic of memories." — Anita Brookner, The Daily Telegraph (U.K.). "A slow burn, measured but suspenseful, this compact novel makes every slyly crafted sentence count. The concluding scenes grip like a thriller - a whodunnit of memory and morality, and one which detonates a minor, private apocalypse." — The Independent (U.K.). "An elegantly composed, quietly devastating tale about memory, aging, time and remorse. Offers somber insights into life's losses, mistakes and disappointments in a piercing, thought-provoking narrative. Bleak as this may sound, the key word here - the note of encouragement - is 'insights.' And this beautiful book is full of them." — Heller McAlpin, NPR.
(Knopf) U.S. EDITION IN STOCK U.K. EDITION SOLD OUT	THE STRANGER'S CHILD by Alan Hollinghurst Alan Hollinghurst's first novel in seven years is a magnificent, century-spanning saga about a love triangle that spawns a myth - and a family mystery - across generations. In 1913, George Sawle brings his Cambridge classmate Cecil Valance home for a summer weekend. Both George and his sixteen-year-old sister, Daphne, are enthralled by the charming and handsome Cecil. But what Cecil writes in Daphne's autograph album will change their and their families' lives forever: a poem that, after Cecil is killed in World War I, will be recited by every schoolchild in England. Over time, a tragic love story is spun, even as other secrets lie buried - until, decades later, an ambitious biographer threatens to unearth them. Rich with the author's signature gifts - haunting sensuality, wicked humor, and exquisite lyricism - this a masterly novel about the lingering power of desire, and about how the heart creates its own history. "It is a rare thing to read a novel buoyed up by the certainty that it will stand among the year's best, but rarer still to become confident of its value in decades to come. . . a remarkable, unmissable achievement. . . truly extraordinary." — The Independent (U.K.).
(Viking) U.S. EDITION IN STOCK	ON CANAAN'S SIDE by Sebastian Barry As 89-year-old Lilly Bere mourns the loss of her grandson, Bill, her memories take her back to the moment she was forced to flee Dublin, at the end of the First World War, to the new world of America, a world filled with both hope and danger. Spanning nearly seven decades, Lilly’s narrative unfurls as she tries to make sense of the sorrows and troubles of her life and of the people whose lives she has touched. "Barry's prose is overwhelmingly poetic, its lyricism yielding a seemingly endless series of potent and moving images. . . An intense and immersive read, one in which brutal events are cast in a diffuse light that gives them an almost mythic quality." — The Guardian (U.K.). "A masterful novel. . . proceeds from the intimacy of a bereaved woman's recollections to a meditation on life, death, identity and America that achieves an epic scope and philosophical depth. It also sustains a page-turning momentum, leaving the reader in suspense until the very end. A novel to be savored." — Kirkus Reviews.
(HMH) U.S. EDITION IN STOCK	PIGEON ENGLISH by Stephen Kelman Recently emigrated from Ghana to London's enormous housing projects, young Harrison Opuku finds wonder and mystery in his new, ever-expanding world. Then one of his classmates seems to have been murdered for his dinner. Armed only with a pair of binoculars and detective techniques absorbed from television shows like "CSI", Harri and his best friend, Dean, plot to bring the perpetrator to justice. Told in Harri's infectious voice and multicultural slang, Pigeon English follows in the tradition of our great novels of friendship and adventure. "Simultaneously accurate and fantastical, this boy's love letter to the world made me laugh and tremble all the way through. Pigeon English is a triumph." — Emma Donoghue (author of "Room"). "Filled with energy, humour and compassion, a gut-wrenchingly sad novel that makes you laugh out loud." — The Guardian (U.K.). "A powerful story, a pacy plot and engaging characters. It paints a vivid portrait with honesty, sympathy and wit, of a much neglected milieu, and it addresses urgent social questions. It is horrifying, tender and funny. In this case, though, my praise is quite irrelevant because - unusually for any novel, let alone a first one - Pigeon English is critic-proof." — The Daily Telegraph (U.K.).
(Oneworld) U.S. EDITION IN STOCK	A CUPBOARD FULL OF COATS by Yvvette Edwards A searing story of family, jealousy, and tragic betrayal. Fourteen years ago Jinx's mother was brutally murdered. Overwhelmed by the part she played, Jinx's whole life has been poisoned by guilt. Then, out of nowhere, Lemon arrives on her doorstep. An old friend of her mother's, he wants to revisit the events leading to that terrible night, forcing Jinx to finally confront her past, and offering her the possibility of redemption alongside the pain of remembrance. But Lemon has his own secrets to share, and together they unravel an unforgettable family drama. Stoked with violence and passion and rich with voices from East London and the West Indies, Edwards' novel is delivered with an uncompromising bite that announces a quite stunning new talent. "Edwards elegantly braids together the lives of three people whose entangled love for the same woman turns sour in this gut-wrenching and gorgeously lyrical debut novel. Engrossing and human to the core, Edwards' novel wrings the heart in the most tender of ways. — Publishers Weekly *** starred review ***.
(Doubleday) U.S. EDITION IN STOCK	JAMRACH'S MENAGERIE by Carol Birch In 19th century London, Charles Jamrach, a famous importer of exotic animals, recruits two young boys to capture a fabled dragon during the course of a three-year whaling expedition. But despite success in their quest, a shipwreck forces the survivors to confront their own place in the animal kingdom. Masterfully told, wildly atmospheric, and thundering with tension, this is a powerful and thrilling novel about friendship, sacrifice, and survival. "A magical, literary novel puts a surreal spin on a coming-of-age seafaring saga. The ill-fated voyage finds the dragon haunting the young mariner Jaffy much the same as the albatross did Coleridge's ancient mariner. Jaffy's experience could well move the reader as profoundly as it changed the narrator. — Kirkus Reviews *** starred review ***. "An almost unbearably suspenseful story of adventure and survival. Birch is a brilliant stylist; reading her is like Christmas, every word being a gift to the reader." — Booklist *** starred review ***. "A moving, fantastically exciting sea tale. . . will keep you up late and make you feel distracted whenever you have to set it down and leave Jaffy’s world behind." — Ron Charles, The Washington Post. "A stirring Victorian-era tale so exquisitely written that your eye will yearn to linger over each sumptuous sentence even as your fingers scramble at the paper's edge to reveal what happens next. Everything you could want in a rousing adventure is here." — The Scotsman (U.K.).
(Ecco) U.S. EDITION IN STOCK	THE SISTERS BROTHERS by Patrick deWitt Patrick deWitt pays homage to the classic Western, transforming it into an unforgettable comic tour de force. Filled with a remarkable cast of characters - losers, cheaters, and ne'er-do-wells - and told by a complex and compelling narrator, it is a violent, lustful odyssey through the underworld of the 1850s American frontier that beautifully captures the humor, melancholy, and grit of the Old West and two brothers bound by blood, violence, and love. "DeWitt has chosen a narrative voice so sharp and distinctive, its very narrowing of possibilities opens new doors in the imagination." — The New York Times. "DeWitt has produced a genre-bending frontier saga that is exciting, funny, and, perhaps unexpectedly, moving." — Publishers Weekly *** starred review ***. "Both homage to the classic Western and knife thrust to its dark underbelly, this novel has a quirky, deadpan exterior and a hard-beating heart; we come to see how men die and how the brotherly bond shifts but holds. . . I was intrigued by page one." — Library Journal. "Thrilling! A lushly voiced picaresque story, so richly told, so detailed, that what emerges is a weird circus of existence, all steel shanks and ponies, gut shots and medication poured into the eyeholes of the dying." — Esquire Magazine.
(Harper) U.S. EDITION IN STOCK	FAR TO GO by Alison Pick When Czechoslovakia relinquishes the Sudetenland to Hitler, the powerful influence of Nazi propaganda sweeps through towns and villages like a sinister vanguard of the Reich's advancing army. A fiercely patriotic secular Jew, Pavel Bauer is helpless to prevent his world from unraveling as first his government, then his business partners, then his neighbors turn their back on his affluent, once-beloved family. As the reality of the family's situation becomes shockingly apparent, they must make a gut-wrenching, fateful decision - whether to keep their little son Pepik with them, or send him away to England. "Pick's compelling portrait of people struggling to comprehend the encroaching horror, while desperately attempting to keep to their normal routines, is intimate and strangely lovely. Resolutely compassionate, and unflinching honest, Pick reveals the complexities of the family's situation, how ordinary betrayals, misgivings and petty jealousies have devastating consequences. But it is bewildered six-year-old Pepik, and his harrowing journey, that encapsulates the loss and hope and heartbreak that is the life-blood of this extraordinary story." — The Daily Mail (U.K.).
(Doubleday) U.S. EDITION IN STOCK	SNOWDROPS by A. D. Miller Nick Platt is a British lawyer working in Moscow in the early 2000s - a place where the cascade of oil money, the tightening grip of the government, the jostling of the oligarchs, and the loosening of Soviet social mores have led to a culture where corruption, decadence, violence, and betrayal define everyday life. Of course, nothing is as it seems. The twists in the story take it far beyond its noirish frame - the sordid and vivid portrayal of Moscow serves as a backdrop for a book that examines the irresistible allure of sin, featuring characters whose hearts are as cold as the Russian winter. "Masterful! A mesmerizing tale of a man seduced by a culture he fancies himself above, Miller's novel is both a nuanced character study and a fascinating look at the complexities of Russian society." — Booklist *** starred review ***. "A lesson in the art of self-delusion and the dog-eat-dog society of post-Soviet Russia, it's sure to be an instant success. Essential for committed readers of fiction and a discussion feast for book clubs." — Library Journal *** starred review ***. "The pleasure of Miller’s first novel is divining the precise nature of the deceptions, and self-deceptions, taking place. A superlative portrait of a country in which everything has its price." — The Financial Times (U.K.). "The novel is multi-layered; subtle rather than strident, and imbued with a bruised beauty. Snowdrops assaults all your senses with its power and poetry, and leaves you stunned and addicted." — The Independent (U.K.).

The winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2011 will be revealed on Tuesday 18 October at a dinner at London's Guildhall and will be broadcast on the BBC Ten O'Clock News.

The winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction will receive £50,000 and can look forward to greatly increased sales and worldwide recognition. Each of the six shortlisted authors, including the winner, will receive £2,500 and a designer bound edition of their shortlisted book.

Visit the Man Booker Prize web site for more news and information.