The six finalists for the prize–with the winner to be named October 6–are:
A S Byatt, The Children’s Book (Chatto and Windus)
J M Coetzee, Summertime (Harvill Secker)
Adam Foulds, The Quickening Maze (Jonathan Cape)
Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall (Fourth Estate)
Simon Mawer, The Glass Room (Little Brown UK)
Sarah Waters, The Little Stranger (Virago)