The Booker Prize unveiled its longlist, with 13 authors from seven countries in the running for the prestigious British award for a sustained work of fiction.
Two American authors made the longlist: Jonathan Escoffery, for his linked story collection, If I Survive You, and Paul Harding, for his novel This Other Eden. Americans were made eligible for the award in 2014; it was previously open only to authors from the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, and Zimbabwe.
Four books by British authors were nominated: Siân Hughes for Pearl, Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow for All the Little Bird-Hearts, Martin MacInnes for In Ascension, and Chetna Maroo for Western Lane.
For the first time, four Irish authors made the shortlist: Sebastian Barry for Old God’s Time, Elaine Feeney for How To Build a Boat, Paul Lynch for Prophet Song, and Paul Murray for The Bee Sting.
Also nominated for the award were Nigerian author Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀̀ for A Spell of Good Things, Canadian author Sarah Bernstein for Study for Obedience, and Malaysian author Tan Twan Eng for The House of Doors.
The Booker Prize was established in 1969. Past winners include Salman Rushdie for Midnight’s Children, Kazuo Ishiguro for The Remains of the Day, and Douglas Stuart for Shuggie Bain.
The shortlist for this year’s prize will be announced on Sept. 21, with the winner revealed at a ceremony in London on Nov. 26.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
