Man Booker Prize shortlist 2017: Londoner who wrote debut novel on her phone competes against five other authors

A London author who secretly wrote her debut novel on her phone while commuting has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

Fiona Mozley, 29, is the author of the “wildcard” work Elmet, which is one of six novels still in contention for the £50,000 literary prize.

Mozley, the second youngest author to reach this stage, began the book four years ago when she had just moved to London after finishing a degree at King’s College, Cambridge.

At the time, the author, who was born in Hackney but grew up in Yorkshire, was living in a cramped house-share in Honor Oak Park and working as an intern at literary agency Artellus Ltd.

Despite the book’s early promise, she kept her writing secret from friends and family. “I did not want to set myself up for a fall, I didn’t want to expect it to be published,” she said. “I thought if I didn’t tell my friends I was writing it I’d be more likely to finish. So I just got on with it.”

It tells the story of a father and his two children who come into conflict with landowners after they build a home for themselves.

Elmet was the name of the last independent Celtic kingdom in England, which later became the West Riding of Yorkshire, where some of the book is based. It has been described as a commentary on one family’s precarious place in temporary English society, as well as an exploration of how deep the bond between father and child can go.

Mozely, who is working on a PhD at York University about late-medieval towns and eco politics, has previously told how she would rush to get the book done.

“To get it finished I just had to take it one sentence at a time, whenever I could,” she said in a previous interview with the Standard.

Also on the shortlist is fellow Briton Ali Smith’s book Autumn and Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid’s work Exit West.

The rest of the list are all American writers - Paul Auster for 4321, Emily Fridlund for History of Wolves and George Saunders for Lincoln in the Bardo.

Zadie Smith, Sebastian Barry, Colson Whitehead and Arundhati Roy are among the authors who were longlisted but failed to make the cut.

The names were announced by the chair of judges Baroness Lola Young.

She said: “With six unique and intrepid books that collectively push against the borders of convention, this year’s shortlist both acknowledges established authors and introduces new voices to the literary stage. Playful, sincere, unsettling, fierce: here is a group of novels grown from tradition but also radical and contemporary. The emotional, cultural, political and intellectual range of these books is remarkable, and the ways in which they challenge our thinking is a testament to the power of literature.”

Previous winners of the prize, first awarded in 1969, include Salman Rushdie, Hilary Mantel, Iris Murdoch, Ian McEwan and Ben Okri

The 2017 winner will be announced on Tuesday 17 October in London’s Guildhall.

The shortlist

Fiona Mozley, Elmet

A commentary on contemporary English society, Elmet is about a young boy and his sister who recount the life they had in a home their father built by hand on land he does not own.

£7.69, Amazon, Buy it now

Ali Smith, Autumn

Written rapidly after the 2016 Brexit vote, the book is viewed as a look at the themes and issues raised by the decision. It follows a 101-year-old former songwriter and his friendship with 32-year-old Elisabeth Demand, who was his neighbour as a child.

£6.99, Waterstones, Buy it now

Paul Auster, 4321

The book follows the life of Archie Ferguson, the narrative of which is told at four different times and in four different versions. Each chapter is split in to four, which tells each version of the story.

£12.50, Amazon, Buy it now

Emily Fridlund, History of Wolves

Man Booker shortlist first-timer Fridlund’s book is about a teenage girl living in northern Minnesota who struggles to come of age in a world of religious zealots and predatory teachers.

£9, Amazon, Buy it now

Mohsin Hamid, Exit West

A book about emigration and the refugee crisis, the work follows a young couple who live in an unnamed city undergoing civil war. They flee, using a system of doors that lead to different locations around the globe.

£10.49, Amazon, Buy it now

George Saunders, Lincoln in the Bardo

This book by Saunders, who is better known for short stories, is about the death of Abraham Lincoln’s son William and the president’s grief. Most of the work is set in the bardo, a space between life and rebirth.

Written rapidly after the 2016 Brexit vote, the book is viewed as a look at the themes and issues raised by the decision. It follows a 101-year-old former songwriter and his friendship with 32-year-old Elisabeth Demand, who was his neighbour as a child.

From £14.50, Amazon, Buy it now

For more information on the Man Booker Prize 2017 click here.