I still maintain that Emma Donoghue was robbed by the Man Booker Prize committee last year when "Room" did not win. (Though fans of Howard Jacobson, who did win, would disagree with me, no doubt vehemently.)

Who will be robbed this year? Or, to put it another way, who will win? The shortlist was announced this morning (this afternoon, British time) and there were a few surprises. Alan Hollinghurst, who won in 2004 for "The Line of Beauty," isn't on it. Nor is Sebastian Barry. But Julian Barnes, who has been short-listed three times before, made the short list again, for "The Sense of an Ending."

Also on the list, Carol Birch for "Jamrach's Menagerie"; Patrick deWitt for "The Sisters Brothers"; Esi Edugyan for "Half Blood Blues"; Stephen Kelman for "Pigeon English"; and A.D. Miller for "Snowdrops."

Interestingly, several of the books on the short list were published by independent publishers--deWitt publishes with Granta Books, Edugyan with Serpents Tail, and Birch with Canongate.Ion Trewin, literary director of the Man Booker Prizes was quoted in the Daily Mail saying 'The novel is alive and well. But perhaps it's being published by a broader range of publishing houses than ever before.'

The Booker Prize winner will be announced Oct. 18. The prize is £50,000.