QUICK TAKES - Sept. 9, 2009

Previous winners A.S. Byatt and J.M. Coetzee are among six finalists announced Tuesday for literature’s prestigious Man Booker Prize.

Byatt’s Edwardian family saga “The Children’s Book” and Coetzee’s semi-autobiographical “Summertime” are leading contenders for the $82,000 fiction award.

The other contenders are Hilary Mantel’s “Wolf Hall,” a historical novel set during the reign of Henry VIII; Adam Foulds’ “The Quickening Maze,” inspired by 19th century poet John Clare; Simon Mawer’s “The Glass Room,” the story of a Jewish family set against the backdrop of the rise of Nazism; and Sarah Waters’ “The Little Stranger,” a spooky tale that unfolds in 1940s England.

The winner will be announced Oct. 6.