On books

Book talk with Graeme Neill

As ever, the Man Booker longlist continues to delight and infuriate. Its announcement on Tuesday afternoon certainly shocked The Bookseller's office and I personally was delighted to see so many independents on the longlist. There's been a major swing towards indies in recent years. Four of the 13 in this year's longlist are from major publishers (across Picador, Random House and Hachette). Three years ago, when White Tiger clinched the Man Booker, the numbers were reversed: four books on the longlist were from indies.

Notable omissions suggested in The Bookseller's office were by Ali Smith, Philip Hensher and David Lodge. The Bookseller's books editor Alice O'Keeffe said she was shocked Edward St Aubyn's At Last (Picador) didn't make the cut. She said: "For me, it's one of the most powerful and moving novels I've read ever, let alone this year." Nevertheless, she was pleased by the number of debuts and the performance of the independents. She said: "I'm particularly thrilled to see Atlantic's Snowdrops by A D Miller, a Moscow-set tale of corruption and compromised morals which I've been raving about since the proof landed on my desk back in August last year."

Bookies are split between D J Taylor and Alan Hollinghurst as to who win will the £50,000 award. The trade appears to be leaning towards Julian Barnes, Sebastian Barry and Hollinghurst again. In words that will no doubt come back to haunt me, if I were a betting man I'd probably stick some cash behind Barnes to win. Surely it's time for the thrice shortlisted author to finally clinch the Man Booker?

However, I'll be rooting for Stephen Kelman. I was fortunate enough to interview him late last year ahead of the publication of Pigeon English (Bloomsbury). He was incredibly calm for a man who was at the heart of one of the most intense bidding wars in recent years. However, Pigeon English justified the considerable hype and is a deeply affecting, and frequently very funny, novel. The book's main character, 11-year-old Ghanian immigrant Harri, is one of the best narrative voices in a novel I have read in years. You can read my Stephen Kelman profile here, as well as interviews with other Man Booker longlistees A D Miller and Alan Hollinghurst.

People power won out this week, with the BBC making a partial climbdown in its decision to cut its short-story coverage. The Society of Authors led the charge against the BBC's decision to slash its short story output from three per week to one and they were backed in the campaign by those political juggernauts Stephen Fry and Joanna Lumley. The SoA still wants clarity on the   BBC's new decision to broadcast two short stories a week. General secretary Nicola Solomon said: "Will they all be brand new writing, or are they stories that already exist? Friday and Sunday [broadcasts] means there will be no midweek stories, and that is still an enormous loss."

Meanwhile, poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy is among those calling for Judith Palmer, former director of the Poetry Society, to be reinstated. A petition has been launched in a bid for the society to start anew. Palmer, president Jo Shapcott and vice-president Gwyneth Lewis were among those who resigned from the embattled organisation earlier this month. The Arts Council has since put its quarterly funding on hold, demanding the society "gets its house in order".

From The Bookseller - Graeme Neill is The Bookseller's news editor.