Authors Carol Shields and William Trevor head the shortlist for the 2002 Booker Prize - but there are surprise omissions for early favourites Zadie Smith, Will Self and Howard Jacobson.

Judges have chosen less publicly celebrated authors, led by Shields, Trevor and Spanish-born Yann Martel, to go forward for the �50,000 prize next month.

The full shortlist is:

• Yann Martel for Life of Pi

• Rohinton Mistry for Family Matters

• Carol Shields for Unless

• William Trevor for The Story of Lucy Gault

• Sarah Waters for Fingersmith

• Tim Winton for Dirt Music.

William Trevor: Third Booker nomination

Bookmakers William Hill have made Irish-born Trevor, 74, 9-4 favourite to win the prize, followed by Winton at 3-1 and Martel at 9-2.

But judges have complained that publishers only submitted "heavyweight" and humourless books in the mistaken belief they were more likely to win.

Lisa Jardine, chair of the judging panel, said books like Porno by Irvine Welsh were not rejected - they were just not entered by their publishers.

"It was published late in the year and we had no idea it even existed," she said.

There's lots of popular fiction which could easily be submitted for the Booker

David Baddiel Judge

"Fiction is in a golden age and there's fine writing out there all over the place. Ideally we would have gone to a book shop and trawled along the shelves looking for books we have missed."

Fellow judge, comedian David Baddiel, said publishers tended to submit "not very funny" books that had "a vulgar and obvious seriousness".

"I think there's lots of popular fiction which could easily be submitted for the Booker," he said.

Zadie Smith's new novel is the follow-up to her debut, White Teeth

When the long list was announced in August, Howard Jacobson was made favourite to win with his comic novel Who's Sorry Now? - but he does not appear on the shortlist.

Zadie Smith's second novel The Autograph Man is another of the early favourites left off the final list of six.

One of the six will receive �50,000 - a �30,000 increase on the amount given to the 2001 winner.

Trevor is the oldest of the shortlisted writers and has been nominated for the Booker Prize twice before, in 1976 and 1991.

His shortlisted book this year, The Story Of Lucy Gault, is about a family torn apart by tragedy in 1920s rural Ireland.

Carol Shields is nominated for her tenth book, Unless

Carol Shields was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1993 for The Stone Diaries, and has previously won the Pulitzer and Orange prizes.

Indian-born Mistry has also been shortlisted before, in 1991, and his new book is the turbulent story of an elderly man who goes to live with his daughter.

Australian novelist Winton, was shortlisted in 1995 and is on the list again for Dirt Music, the story of a woman trying to leave a Perth fishing community.

First-time nominee Martel is shortlisted for Life Of Pi, about a boy who finds himself stranded at sea with a collection of animals.

At 36, Waters is the youngest of the shortlisted writers and makes her first appearance on the list with a story of a Victorian orphan.

The winner will be announced at a ceremony at the British Museum on 22 October, which will be broadcast live on BBC Two and BBC Four.