Three Irish books in line for award

THREE Irish novels have been nominated for a €100,000 book award.

Room by Emma Donoghue, Faithful Place by Tana French and Skippy Dies by Paul Murray are among the titles up for the Impac Dublin Literary Award.

A total of 147 novels have been chosen by libraries worldwide for the top prize.

Room received the greatest number of nominations, with 20 libraries across the globe choosing the title.

Faithful Place was picked by Lincoln City library in the US and Skippy Dies was put forward by readers in Ireland and the US.

Dublin City librarian Margaret Hayes said the award promotes excellence in world literature.

She added: “The success of the three Irish authors in being nominated by so many libraries reinforces Dublin’s UNESCO City of Literature status and Emma Donoghue’s success in achieving 20 nominations from libraries worldwide demonstrates once again the international appeal of Irish writing.”

The 147 nominations came from 122 cities and 45 countries worldwide.

Other titles up for the 2012 award include A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and Cool Water by Dianne Warren, winner of the Governor General’s Award for Fiction 2010.

The prize is the world’s most valuable annual literary award for a single work of fiction published in English. The winner will be announced in June.