International Booker prize shortlist delivers ‘awe and exhilaration’

The final contenders for the 50,000 prize for translated fiction - five out of six by women - could see Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk win a second time

From Olga Tokarczuk's epic about a man who claimed to be the messiah to Geetanjali Shree's tale of a widow finding a new lease of life, female writers take the majority of places on this year's International Booker prize shortlist.

Of the six books now in contention for the prestigious translated fiction award, five were written by women, with three translated by women too. The International Booker goes to the finest fiction from around the world" that has been translated into English, awarding a cash prize of 50,000, which is split equally between author and translator.