Gay Man, Lesbian Lead Highest Booker Longlist Sales Since 2001

The thirteen novels on the Man Booker longlist are selling better than any list since 2001, and that list was comprised of twenty-four titles. Leading the pack by far is openly gay Christos Tsiolkas, whose novel The Slap has been widely praised for its eight different perspectives (including a gay teen, Richie's) on contemporary Australia. According to Nielsen BookScan figures, he sold more than 5,000 copies in the UK last week. In Australia, The Slap has remained on bestseller lists since its publication in 2008.

Ranked second for sales among the longlist is Irish writer Emma Donoghue (who lives in Canada with her partner and their children) for her explosive novel Room. Although she declines to confirm that the UK advance was one million pounds, she will say it was "mortifyingly large." Known for her historical thrillers Slammerkin and The Sealed Letter with lesbian elements, Donoghue has turned to very recent history for her new novel. Vaguely inspired by the Josef Fritzl case in Austria, she tells the entire story from the point of view of five year old Jack who has never known life beyond the 11 x 11 shed he shares with his mother and once a week visits from her father who is also his father. Michael Cunningham says, "Room is that rarest of entities, an entirely original work of art. I mean it as the highest possible praise when I tell you that I can’t compare it to any other book. Suffice to say that it’s potent, darkly beautiful, and revelatory." It goes on sale here next month.