Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie make it to the Booker Prize shortlist

And then there were six.

The shortlist for the Booker Prize was released today, with literary heavyweights Margaret Atwood and Salman Rushdie surviving the latest cut, along with newer but equally talented faces.

Here’s the final list of contenders:

• The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood.

• Ducks, Newburyport, by Lucy Ellmann.

• Girl, Woman, Other, by Bernardine Evaristo.

• An Orchestra of Minorities, by Chigozie Obioma.

• Quichotte, by Salman Rushdie.

• 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, by Elif Shafak.

Learn a bit more about each nominee and its author from NPR, and check out excerpts from (and links to the full versions of) the Guardian’s reviews of most books.