ASIA-PACIFIC Man Booker veteran Salman Rushdie is once again a frontrunner for the annual literary award, but bookies on Tuesday tipped Irish author Joseph O’Neill to edge him out for the £50,000 prize, following Tuesday’s publication of the 13-strong longlist.
William Hill installed O’Neill’s post-9/11 novel Netherland as 3-1 favourite, closely followed by Rushdie’s The Enchantress at 4-1. Earlier this year Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, which scooped the 1981 prize, was declared Best of Booker following a public vote to celebrate the best of the winners over the 40-year history of the prize.
