WILLEMSTAD, Curacao, September 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Just minutes after the Man Booker Prize final short list was announcedearlier today, PinnacleSports.com began calculating odds on who would win theprestigious literary award in 2009.

The prize aims to reward the best novel of the year written by a citizenof the Commonwealth, or the Republic of Ireland, and the remaining sixnominees have survived from an original field of 132 contenders.

With odds finalised just minutes after the shortlist was announced,leading online bookmaker PinnacleSports.com has priced Hilary Mantel with'Wolf Hall' -- her novel about Thomas Cromwell -- the favourite with odds of11/10* to receive the pounds Sterling 50,000 first prize on October 6, andmore importantly, the international acclaim and boost to sales that the awardbestows on the successful author.

With an industry leading reputation for providing consistent value to theplayer, the oddsmakers at PinnacleSports.com, who specialise in book bettingodds, list JM Coetzee (Summertime) -- one of only two authors to have won theaward twice -- with odds of 4/1*. AS Byatt (The Children's Book), also aformer winner in 1990, is given odds of 13/2*.

Sarah Waters, who has been twice short-listed for the Man Booker Prize,has made the 2009 short-list with her ghost story, 'The Little Stranger', thebest selling book (so far) of the six. PinnacleSports.com lists Waters as a7/2* second favourite.

Simon Mawer makes the list with another historical novel, 'The GlassRoom', given odds of 11/1*, the same price as debut novelist Adam Foulds,with 'The Quickening Maze', who completes the short list.

"Whether in traditional sports, or specialist markets such as literaryawards, the betting action at PinnacleSports.com often acts as a reliablebarometer to the eventual outcome," said Simon Noble, spokesperson forPinnacleSports.com. "With one of the strongest Man Booker Prize short listsin recent memory, we anticipate a closely matched and fluctuating bettingmarket."

        (*All odds subject to change)    Full Man Booker Short-List Odds from www.PinnacleSports.com    Hilary Mantel (Wolf Hall) 11/10*    Sarah Waters (The Little Stranger) 7/2*    JM Coetzee (Summertime) 4/1*    AS Byatt (The Children's Book) 13/2*    Adam Foulds (The Quickening Maze) 11/1*    Simon Mawer (The Glass Room) 11/1*

For a complete set of odds, go to www.pinnaclesports.com

About PinnacleSports.com

PinnacleSports.com is a leading International online sports betting siteserving customers in more than 100 countries. Founded in 1998,PinnacleSports.com was the first sports book to introduce a reduced marginpricing model with odds that offer up to 60% better value than traditionalbookmakers. Fully licensed and regulated in the Netherlands Antilles, thecompany offers a secure environment for sports betting, poker and casinogaming.