Banville shortlisted for Man Booker International Prize

IRELAND’S John Banville has been pitched against literary heavyweights Philip Roth, Salman Rushdie and 13 other writers from around the world in the shortlist for the Man Booker International Prize.

The shortlist ranged from Nigerian Chinua Achebe and Britain’s Ian McEwan to Australian Peter Carey, Canada’s Margaret Atwood and Israeli Amos Oz.

The judges said: “We offer a gift to readers all over the world, an opportunity to join a conversation on 15 writers, diverse in nationality, language, themes and techniques but united in their dedication to the power of the word.”

In contrast to the annual Booker Prize which is awarded to one particular novel, the International Prize highlights a writer’s complete works. The €90,000 prize is awarded every two years.

Albanian writer Ismail Kadare beat literary giants including Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Roth to win the £60,000 inaugural prize two years ago.

This year, the list of 15 authors for the literature prize also includes 87-year-old British writer Doris Lessing, whose 1962 novel, The Golden Notebook, is considered a classic of feminist fiction.

The 15 authors on the shortlist come from 10 countries and four are writers in translation.

The prize is for a living author who has published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language.