Wizard book on Guardian shortlist

Zadie Smith won the prize in 2000 for her novel White Teeth

An 800-page novel about wizardry is on the five-strong shortlist for the Guardian's £10,000 First Book award.

Among the other books being considered for the prize include an anthology of poetry and a collection of short stories.

A panel of literary experts will decide the prizewinner, which will be announced at a ceremony on 1 December.

Previous winners of the award include White Teeth by Zadie Smith (2000), which went on to become a bestseller.

Poet Matthew Hollis is nominated for his anthology Ground Water. Water is a theme throughout his work.

David Bezmozgis, a Latvian emigrant to Canada, is in the running with Natasha, a collection of short stories dealing with the topics of immigration and alienation.

PREVIOUS WINNERS 2003: Mountains of the Mind by Robert Macfarlane 2002: Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer 2001: Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware 2000: White Teeth by Zadie Smith

Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is the weightiest tome on the shortlist, with its alternative historical setting.

In an alternative history where Napoleon is defeated by cloud ships, Mr Norrell teaches Jonathan Strange wizardry.

Rory Stewart's book The Places In Between is a non-fictional account of his travels in Afghanistan.

Biologist Armande Marie Leroi's Mutants completes the shortlist with a scientific look at the variety and errors of the human body.

Claire Armistead, literary editor of The Guardian and presiding judge, said she was "delighted" by the variety on this year's shortlist.

The judging panel includes theatre director Richard Eyre, comedian Alexei Sayle, barrister and cultural critic Baroness Helena Kennedy QC and authors Ali Smith and Hari Kunzru.