The shortlist for the UK’s Arthur C. Clarke Award 2009 was just announced, giving six writers a shot at the £2,010 prize.

The contest is named after the famed science fiction author Clarke (pictured). The judges picked the books from 41 submissions 17 publishers and imprints. The winner will be revealed on April 28th at the Sci-fi London Film Festival. The shortlist:

Spirit by Gwyneth Jones (Gollancz)
The City & The City by China Mieville (Macmillan)
Yellow Blue Tibia by Adam Roberts (Gollancz)
Galileo’s Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson (HarperCollins)
Far North by Marcel Theroux (Faber & Faber)
Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding (Gollancz)

Here’s more from the site: “The judging panel for the 2010 Arthur C. Clarke Award are Chris Hill and Jon Courtenay Grimwood for the British Science Fiction Association, Francis Spufford and Rhiannon Lassiter for the Science Fiction Foundation and Paul Skevington for the science fiction news website SFCrowsnest.com. Paul Billinger represents the Arthur C. Clarke Award as the Chair of Judges.” (via Jose Afonso Furtado)