From the BBC:
Hornby’s A Long Way Down and Rushdie’s Shalimar The Clown compete with Ali Smith’s The Accidental and The Ballad of Lee Cotton by Christopher Wilson.
Rachel Zadok – a finalist on a How to Get Published contest on TV’s Richard and
Judy show – is up for first novel.
All category winners and the overall book of the year selection will be announced on 4 January.
This year’s awards, which also includes categories for poetry collection, biography and children’s book, had 476 entries, the highest ever total for the Whitbread.
More here.