Obligatory Post On The Longlist

Sarah Waters, Peter Carey and the bookies' favourite, David Mitchell, last night looked the strongest contenders for this year's £50,000 Man Booker prize.

Their names were conspicuous in a longlist which took longer to agree than almost any in the award's 40-year history.

The five judges - two men and three women - took more than six hours to pick 19 authors, a length of debate far longer than that taken by previous judges to choose most eventual winners.