As an aesthetic, a fuzzy set, a mode or whatever, fantasy flourished in the ferment of the 18th century, and nowhere more successfully than in this damp island. Sometimes, hankering for the specious gravitas of history, defenders of fantasy claim it is the oldest genre, banging on about Gilgamesh and Beowulf and so on. His greatest novel, One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967), tells of the decline of Macondo, a remote village which owes much to his birthplace, Aracataca. He won the Nobel Prize in 1982.Margaret AtwoodCanada’s ice queen is formidably gifted, her oeuvre ranging across styles and genres. As well as sharp feminist fables, she has written poetry, criticism, historical and futurist novels (The Handmaid’s Tale), and has recentlycolonised the world of sci-fi.

A perennial Booker favourite, she has been shortlisted five times and won the prize in 2000 for The Blind Assassin.Suzi Feay. Equally important to his development was his first career as a crusading journalist. Few have written so passionately about the power of love (Love in the Time of Cholera, 1985). His work spans The Witches of Eastwick and Gertrude and Claudius, his 51st novel, the exquisitely woven backstory of Hamlet.Gabriel Garc?M?uezA virtuoso of magic realism, the Colombian maestro heard fantastical tales at his grandmother’s knee. Naipaul won a Nobel Prize in 2001.John UpdikeVersatile and prolific, Updike is best known for his brilliant Rabbit tetralogy (1960-1990).

He is the chronicler of ordinary, decent, old-fashioned Americans: their aspirations, simple faith and sexual frustrations. Latterly, he has been most famous for a spat with Paul Theroux, who detailed his disillusion with his former friend in Sir Vidia’s Shadow. Among the Believers (1981) is a critical assessment of Islam. His first masterpiece, A House for Mr Biswas (1961), centres upon the Naipaul archetype of the mild-mannered man who seeks comically to better himself. But she is now optimistic about the move, particularly inclusion of authors who are translated. She has recently been working with the Women’s Watershed Fiction initiative for Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, which aims to identify the books that change listeners’ lives. “As far as I’m concerned it is so important that it includes translation, I dearly hope that it does go to a writer who has been translated.”Booker is already a powerful influence over book sales.

Some estimate that winning the prize can add up to a ten-fold increase.Joel Rickett, acting editor of The Bookseller, welcomed the international prize, but said: “The big question is whether it’s just going to go to the usual suspects and are we going to spend the next few years picking off obvious names Or using it to redress … the fact that some people haven’t been given a Booker.”There will be a lot hanging on the first choice because that will set the tone.”FRONT-RUNNERS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKERV S NaipaulBorn into Trinidad’s East Indian community, Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul is the consummate international man of letters, turning his hand to short stories, novels, polemic, journalism and travel writing Born in 1932, he launched his literary career in 1957. It might only be their third book and they are in their 30s but they have changed the landscape.”Early discussions about an international prize led to fears that Americans would be allowed on to the main Booker list, which alarmed Professor Lisa Jardine, who was chairman of the judges in 2002. What we want to do is recognise someone’s work but it could be someone who has done remarkably well in a short space of time. It’s up to the judges to draw up their own.”The three judges have already set the agenda and established a reading list, to be whittled down to a shortlist which will be announced early next year.