Indies tip Mozley and Saunders for Booker

Indie booksellers are divided on who they think will take home the Man Booker Prize today (17th), with a few backing fellow bookseller Fiona Mozley for her debut Elmet (JM Originals), while others have hinted they are expecting Ali Smith or George Saunders to claim the prize.

In contention for the £50,000 gong are Mohsin Hamid for Exit West (Hamish Hamilton), Smith for Autumn (Hamish Hamilton), 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster (Faber & Faber), Mozley’s Elmet (JM Originals), Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo (Bloomsbury) and Emily Fridlund for History of Wolves (Weidenfeld & Nicolson).

Peter Donaldson at Red Lion Books in Colchester told The Bookseller: “Here we're rooting for fellow bookseller, Fiona Mozley's strange, dark tale of life on the margins of society [Elmet]. Together with Ali Smith's Autumn, it is the book that is getting the strongest response from our customers. As for the winner, it is impossible to second guess a Man Booker panel -  but this year I've just a hunch that we might be on the money with Elmet."

Joe Hedinger of The Book Hive in Norwich said Elmet has been selling well at the shop along with Auster's 4 3 2 1, but expressed a "particular fondness" for Saunders' debut novel.

"We have a particular fondness for Lincoln in the Bardo as Henry Layte, the owner of The Book Hive, did a reading of the book on stage alongside George Saunders and Graham Linehan as part of the UEA Literature Festival!", said Hedinger.

Betsy Tobin, owner of Islington's Ink@82, said she was tipping Lincoln in The Bardo to take home the prize, but added that Autumn is outselling all the other shortlisted titles by "miles".

"Apart from these, sales have been sluggish for the other four titles, and there seems to be far less interest in the debuts than in previous years", she added.

According to Nielsen BookScan, Autumn, which was a Waterstones Book of the Month for September, has sold 49,427 copies across all editions, far more than the next biggest seller 4 3 2 1, which has sold 14,392 copies. Autumn jumped 25% in volume the week of the shortlist announcement, though was already in the top 50. Elmet has had the most dramatic rise, jumping 604% in volume week on week. It has now sold 9,863 copies across all editions.

Kira Gibson of the Chorleywood Bookshop in Hertfordshire said her money was on Elmet but that she'd like to see the "extremely compelling and beautifully written" History of Wolves take the prize. She added that the bestselling of the titles at her bookshop were 4 3 2 1, Autumn and Elmet.

Vivian Archer, owner of London's Newham Books, added: “It's so hard to predict the winner. Selling best for us are Autumn and Elmet. In my opinion Home Fire [by Kamilla Shamsie (Bloomsbury)] was one of the best books that I read, but didn't make the shortlist.” 

Meanwhile, Chris White, head of fiction at Waterstones, has said the prize could be taken by Saunders or Hamid.

White told The Bookseller: “I feel it’s probably a toss-up between George Saunders’ Lincoln in the Bardo and Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West, although Elmet by Fiona Mozley clearly has done a great deal already to win over the judges, so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it proved victorious on the night. This year’s list is proving quite popular with our customers with Autumn by Ali Smith having sold the most so far.”

The 2017 winner will be announced on 17th October in London’s Guildhall at a black-tie dinner, with the ceremony to be broadcast by the BBC.

Last year, the prize was taken by Paul Beatty, giving independent publisher Oneworld its second consecutive win after Marlon James scooped the award in 2015.