As the hunt begins for the winner of the 2012 Guardian first book award, we're joined by chair of the judging panel, Lisa Allardice, in a discussion of the 11 longlisted titles, which range from a brilliant journalistic portrayal of life in a Mumbai slum to an unforgettable novel by an Iraq war veteran.
Big hitters – such as Chad Harbach with his much trumpeted baseball novel The Art of Fielding – will compete with little gems, like Mary Costello's short story collection The China Factory, from a small Irish publisher Stinging Fly for the £10,000 prize, which will be announced in December.
This is the 13th year of the prize, whose past winners range from Zadie Smith's White Teeth to last year's very different but no less triumphant debut, The Emperor of Maladies, a biography of cancer.
The longlist
The China Factory by Mary Costello (Short Stories - Stinging Fly Press)
Absolution by Patrick Flanery (Atlantic)
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (Fourth Estate)
Tony Hogan Brought Me an Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma by Kerry Hudson (Chatto & Windus)
The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers (Sceptre)
The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan (Virago)
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo (Random House)
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (Viking)
The Origins of Sex by Faramerz Dabhoiwala (Allen Lane) Faramerz Deboyvollah
Sandstorm: Libya in the Time of Revolution by Lindsey Hilsum (Faber)
Pelt by Sarah Jackson (Bloodaxe)
