The 2017 Man Booker Shortlist Is Heavy on Americans and Debut Novelists

The 2017 Man Booker Prize shortlist was announced on Wednesday, and the final six books are heavy on American authors and debut novelists.

Until 2014, the prize was only open to writers from the U.K. and Commonwealth, Ireland and Zimbabwe. It has since been opened up to any author writing in English and published in the U.K. Last year, Paul Beatty became the first American novelist to win the award for The Sellout.

This year’s list is half American — Paul Auster, Emily Fridlund and George Saunders all made the cut — and, depending on how you count it, half of the nominees are debut novelists. Fridlund and Fiona Mozley were both recognized for their first books, and though Saunders already had a well-established career as a short story writer before publishing Lincoln in the Bardo, it is technically his first full-length novel.

Here is the complete list of finalists for the 2017 Man Booker Prize. The winner will be announced in a ceremony on Oct. 17.

4321 by Paul Auster (US)

History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund (US)

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid (UK-Pakistan)

Elmet by Fiona Mozley (UK)

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (US)

Autumn by Ali Smith (UK)