A University of Roehampton professor, and one of Wimbledon BookFest regulars has been named as a judge for the Man Booker Prize for fiction this year.

David Harsant is a poet and professor of Creative Writing at the University and hosts creative writing master classes at the Wimbledon BookFest.

He will be one of five judging the shortlist for this year's award.

Professor Harsent said: "I’m delighted to be selected as a judge for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction. I very much look forward to reading some of the most promising books of the year during the next 12 months and I am sure we will have some interesting debates."

Wimbledon Times:

The judging panel

Alongside him on the panel will be Amanda Foreman as chairman, actress Olivia Williams, critic and lecturer Jon Day and Booker Prize shortlisted novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah.

Next year is the 48th year of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction. This year’s judging panel will be looking for the best novel of the year, selected from entries published in the UK between October 1, 2015 and September 30, 2016.