The Best of the Booker title is handed out this week, with the public choosing between six shortlisted authors who have won the coveted literary prize over the last 40 years. Bookies are reporting that 90 percent of bets placed on the outcome have gone to Salman Rushdie for “Midnight’s Children”, giving him odds of 1/7, the shortest price in the history of the annual prize.

The betting odds clearly favour Rushdie, the most instantly recognisable name among nominees and therefore the writer most likely to appeal to the punters. Rushdie spent many years in hiding after a death warrant was issued against him by Muslims angry at his novel “The Satanic Verses”. Since he emerged from the shadows, he has become a literary celebrity through his high profile on the party curcuit and his marriage to the glamorous Padma Lakshmi, which ended in divorce last year.

Instant recognition may also favour the 61-year-old when it comes to online voting for the award, which closes on Tuesday. All will be revealed on Thursday.