13.4.07

Man Booker International - The big guns are out to play

Fifteen of the world's greatest living authors go head to head for the $130,000 (£60,000) Man Booker International Prize. Have you seen the shortlist? It's pretty darned impressive. Canada's well represented with nominations for Michael Ondaatje, Margaret Atwood, and Alice Munro.

But amazingly, they're not the only heavy hitters in the lineup. The nominees include authors from the U.S. (Don De Lillo, Philip Roth), the United Kingdom (Ian McEwan), Ireland (John Banville), Australia (Peter Carey), the Netherlands (Harry Mulisch), Israel (Amos Oz), India (Salman Rushdie), France (Michel Tournier), Mexico (Carlos Fuentes), Nigeria (Chinua Achebe) and England-by-way-of-what-is-now-Zimbabwe (Doris Lessing).

Wow. I really don't know what the outcome is going to be but I'm glad to see Canada has three nominations - more than any of the other countries - and I'm pulling for either Ondaatje or Munro to win it. The gloves are off; it's going to be one heck of a fight!

Read more about the Man Booker International prize: Globe and Mail and The Guardian.

No comments: