Shortlists: Booker Prize and NLNG

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2011 shortlist was announced on Tuesday September 6, 2011. From a longlist of 13 books comes a shortlist of 6.
  • Jualian Barnes The Sense of Ending (Jonathan Cape)
  • Carol Birch Jamrach's Menagerie (Canongate)
  • Patrick deWitt The Sisters Brothers (Granta Books)
  • Esi Edugyan Half Blood Blues (Serpent's Tail)
  • Stephen Kelman Pigeon English (Bloomsbury)
  • A.D. Miller Snowdrops (Atlantic Books)
This list contains 2 first time novelists: Stephen Kelman and A.D. Miller and two have had success with the prize in the past: Julian Barnes and Carol Birch. Four of the books are from independent publishers, two are Canadian writers and four are British.

ImageNations interest is in Esi Edugyan who, though a Canadian, was born to Ghanaian emigrants. Then there is also the Ghanaian connection, in terms of the protagonist, in Kelman's Pigeon English. My friend Geosi has suggested that after reading all the reviews, he tips Esi to win. I have not yet read any of the reviews. I wish Esi all the best.

The winner will be announced on October 18, 2011 at London's Guildhall, with the winner receiving 50,000 Pounds. Shortlisted authors would also receive some monetary prizes as well. Read more here.
______________________________
The shortened shortlist of NLNG Prize for Literature has been announced. The previous shortlist of 6 stories has been whittled down to 3:
The winner will be announced on October 10, 2011 at a world press conference at Eko Hotel in Lagos. We wish all the shortlisted authors the best of luck.

Comments

  1. Nina8 September 2011 at 10:27

    Sounds like a really interesting shortlist, and I shall definitely try to read some of them, especially the books by Edugyan and Kelman, both of which have actually had very good reviews.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @parridhlantern8 September 2011 at 10:57

    Am reading Half Blood Blues at the moment, and am finding it a thoroughly enjoyable read, about a section of society not really mentioned from that era. Great read

    ReplyDelete
  3. ImageNations8 September 2011 at 11:13

    @Nina, I would love to read your reviews. Have heard good things about Edugyan's book. I have read some reviews and opinions about its merit in the longlist.

    ReplyDelete
  4. ImageNations8 September 2011 at 11:14

    @PL... I'd be reading your review.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amy8 September 2011 at 17:40

    I'm happy to see Eno's Story on the short list, and not too surprised that Begho's title isn't on it as I didn't find it as good. Sadly I have yet to be able to track down the other two shortlisted titles :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. ImageNations9 September 2011 at 07:21

    @Amy, I've only read Eno's Story and I am happy to find it on this shortlist.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sandra15 September 2011 at 08:07

    I have just completed the Barnes book and am currently enjoying Carol Birch's book. The others, including Esi Edugyan's book are on their way to me from the library. I only hope I can fit them in before the award announcement.
    I did read 3 novels by or about Nigerians recently and mentioned them in my post last week if it interests you: http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2011/09/its-monday-what-are-you-reading.html

    I am eager to read more as I find them.

    ReplyDelete
  8. ImageNations15 September 2011 at 08:17

    @Sandra, thanks for link. I hope you enjoyed the Bookers and the Nigerian books. Spreading our reading to cover different genres and countries helps us understand life in general.

    ReplyDelete

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