Those who lost out

Mohsin Hamid: The Reluctant Fundamentalist

The Reluctant Fundamentalist is Pakistan-born Hamid8217;s second novel. In the novel, a Pakistani Princeton graduate becomes a high-flyer in Manhattan. But he discovers a different side to his adopted home and his own beliefs after the 11 September attacks.

Lloyd Jones: Mister Pip

New Zealander Lloyd Jones has been gathering attention and acclaim since his first novel was published 22 years ago. Mister Pip won the Commonwealth Writers8217; Prize Overall Best Book Award 2007.

Ian McEwan On Chesil Beach

A Booker favourite, McEwan has been shortlisted for the award thrice, winning in 1998 for Amsterdam. Many of his novels have been adapted for the big screen, with Atonement, starring Keira Knightley, in the cinemas at the moment.

Indra Sinha: Animal8217;s People

Sinha was born in India and educated in the UK, where he went on to become an advertising copywriter and published a translation of the Kama Sutra.

The 1984 industrial disaster in Bhopal forms the setting for the story, about a man who was left with mental and physical defects after such a catastrophe.