Salman Rushdie's yet-to-be-published tale about a young Muslim boy who grows up to become an Islamic terrorist has won him his a place on the Man Booker Prize longlist announced today.

Four former Booker winners and three first-time novelists are among the 17 authors vying for one of the literary world’s most prestigious awards. Also listed are Ian McEwan, Zadie Smith and Kzuro Ishiguro.

The judges describe this year’s crop of books as "exceptional" and said the longlist was one of the strongest in the history of the prize.

Rushdie, who won the 1981 prize for Midnight's Children (which was also awarded the Booker of Bookers in 1993), has been longlisted for his forthcoming work Shalimar the Clown, which is published next month.

Set in the disputed state of Kashmir, the tale of love and revenge is sure to cause fresh controversy for the author who was forced to hide from an Islamic fatwa after publication of The Satanic Verses. It details the transformation of a young Muslim boy from shy teenager to Islamic terrorist guided by a radical mullah.

Besides Rushdie, the previous Booker winners on this year’s longlist are McEwan for Saturday, Ishiguro for Never Let me Go and JM Coetzee for Slow Man.

The three debut novels are A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka, The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw and This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson.

Smith has been longlisted for her third novel, the soon-to-be-published On Beauty. Other authors on the list include Julian Barnes, Hilary Mantel, Dan Jacobson and Rachel Cusk. The prize is open to all books published by Commonwealth and Irish writers this year.

John Sutherland, the chairman of the judges, said: "This has been an exceptional year, and in the judges’ opinion may rank as one of the strongest ever since the prize was founded in 1969.

"It is also a nicely balanced longlist with four previous Booker winners, three first novels and a satisfying range of styles. The judges have enjoyed their judging experience enormously - so far."

The shortlist will be announced on September 8 and the winner of the £50,000 prize on October 10. The longlisted novels are:

Tash Aw - The Harmony Silk Factory

John Banville - The Sea

Julian Barnes - Arthur & George

Sebastian Barry - A Long Long Way

JM Coetzee - Slow Man

Rachel Cusk - In the Fold

Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go

Dan Jacobson - All For Love

Marina Lewycka - A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian

Hilary Mantel - Beyond Black

Ian McEwan - Saturday

James Meek - The People’s Act of Love

Salman Rushdie - Shalimar the Clown

Ali Smith - The Accidental

Zadie Smith - On Beauty

Harry Thompson - This Thing of Darkness

William Wall - This Is The Country

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