Irish authors fail to make literary grade

IRISH authors have failed to make the shortlist for the world’s richest literary prize, which was announced in Dublin yesterday.

The shortlist for the 2005 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, which is worth €100,000, includes two novelists each from South Africa, Canada and the US, with one each from Australia, the Netherlands, Germany and Norway.

Books by three Irish writers were included in the original list of 147 titles for the award, which are nominated by libraries in 129 cities across the globe.