2012 Man Booker Prize overly populist. Whether or not as a response to this, the 2012 jury strongly emphasised the value of literary quality and linguistic innovation as criteria for inclusion. The winner was Hilary Mantel, an early favourite, for her book "Bring Up the Bodies", the sequel to her novel "Wolf Hall", which won the award in 2009. Mantel became the first woman, and the first Briton, to win the prize twice. A strong challenger to Mantel was established writer Will Self, who was nominated for the first time. Other shortlisters included second-time nominee Tan Twan Eng, Deborah Levy, who returned from a
2013 Man Booker Prize guarantee of literary weight and seriousness of intent." The judges' backgrounds – as academics, professional writers and journalists – were emphasized as essential to their role as reviewers. "We are all looking forward to the 10 months, 140 novels and many meetings and conversations that lie ahead of us," Macfarlane said, "as we search for the very best of contemporary fiction." On 15 October, the chair of the judges Robert Macfarlane announced that the winner of the 2013 Man Booker Prize was New Zealand author Eleanor Catton for her second novel "The Luminaries". By winning, Catton became, at the age