Salman Rushdie’s “The Enchantress of Florence” failed to make the final round in the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, as the judges chose to short-list six lesser-known authors, including two debut novelists, for Britain’s most prestigious literary award.

The finalists for the prize, worth $88,000, come from India, Britain, Australia, and Ireland. They range from Sebastian Barry’s “The Secret Scripture” (Faber and Faber), a study of an Irish life blighted by politics, religion, and misogyny, to Amitav Ghosh’s “Sea of Poppies” (John Murray), a seafaring story set just before the Opium Wars.

The first-time novelists among the finalists are Aravind Adiga, for “The White Tiger” (Atlantic), and Steve Toltz, for “A Fraction of the Whole” (Hamish Hamilton). Rounding out the short list are Linda Grant, for “The Clothes on Their Backs” (Virago), and Philip Hensher, for “The Northern Clemency” (Fourth Estate).

Mr. Rushdie’s “The Enchantress of Florence,” which weaves an opulent saga from the history and myths of both East and West, had been on the long list. His “Midnight’s Children” captured the Best of the Booker award in July, topping a public poll to select the most outstanding novel published in the past 40 years.

The Booker contest is designed to celebrate the best novel of the year written by a citizen of the 53-member Commonwealth, the Republic of Ireland, or Zimbabwe.