JK Rowling, Dan Brown, Philip Pullman and Jamie Oliver are among the authors shortlisted for a prize for the best book of the past 30 years.
The one-off accolade is being given to mark 30 years of the British Book Awards.
Rowling’s Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, Pullman’s Northern Lights and Oliver’s 5 Ingredients cookery book are all shortlisted.
Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding, Jung Chang’s Wild Swans, The Gruffalo’s Child by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler and The Lost Works by Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane also made the list.
Hilary Mantel’s novel Wolf Hall, which is the first part of a trilogy, has also been named on the shortlist in the same month that the final book in the series, The Mirror And The Light, was released.
The shortlist has been selected by readers and people in the publishing industry and features previous British Book Award winners.
However one “wildcard” entry that narrowly missed out on getting an award has been included on the shortlist – Adam Kay’s secret diary about being a junior doctor, titled This Is Going To Hurt.
Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller and chair of the judging committee, said: “This is a wonderful list of past winners complemented by our wildcard.
“The shortlist showcases the enduring power of books and the importance of those who write them, publish them and sell them.”
The winning author will collect their prize at the British Book Awards on June 29.
