Debut novel written by commuter on phone makes Booker shortlist

A BOOKSELLER who secretly wrote her debut novel on her phone has been shortlisted for this year’s Man Booker Prize for fiction.

Fiona Mozley’s book Elmet, which she worked on during her commute, is a strong contender for the £50,000 award, with bookmakers offering odds of 4-1.

The 29-year-old is studying at York University for a PhD in medieval towns and eco-politics and has a part-time job at the city’s Little Apple Bookshop.

She said: ‘I started writing the book on the train about four years ago. I didn’t have my laptop with me so I jotted down the ideas and the first chapter on my phone.

‘I went back to Yorkshire to visit family and was looking out of the window at the countryside when I started writing.’

Elmet is about a father and his two children who come into conflict with landowners after they build a home for themselves.

The title is also the name of the last independent Celtic kingdom in England, which later became the West Riding of Yorkshire, where some of the novel is based. Miss Mozley said she found it ‘quite embarrassing’ when her customers bought her book, but added that the nomination was ‘really exciting’.

She kept her writing secret because she ‘didn’t want to expect it to be published’.

‘I thought if I didn’t tell my friends I was writing it I’d be more likely to finish, so I just got on with it,’ she added.

Miss Mozley told her retired parents Harold and Caroline only after she had signed a publishing contract.

The other nominees are British authors Mohsin Hamid and Ali Smith, and Americans Emily Fridlund, George Saunders and Paul Auster. The winner will be announced on October 17.