Friday, April 3, 2009

Indra Sinha in short list for IMPAC Dublin Literary Award

Animal's People by Indian-British writer Indra Sinha, the tale of a crippled street urchin in an Indian slum and the intrigues that follow the arrival of a humanitarian doctor, is on the short list for the 2009 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, announced on April 2.

American writers have nabbed four places on the short list. Among them are Pulitzer-Prize-winner Junot Diaz for The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and debut novelist Michael Thomas for Man Gone Down.

Although several Canadians were nominated, including Michael Ondaatje and Douglas Coupland, none made the short list for the 100,000-euro ($166,650 Cdn) prize, one of the world's most lucrative literary prizes.

Judges also nominated two books in translation and the highly acclaimed The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Pakistani-British writer Mohsin Hamid.

The full list includes:
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
by Dominican-American Díaz, a portrait of a young Dominican man out of step with both America and his parents' homeland.
Ravel by French writer Jean Echenoz (in translation), a quirky portrait of a musical genius.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, the story of a Muslim man's failed life in post-9/11 America.
The Archivist's Story by American Travis Holland, a novel about a Moscow archivist who risks his life to preserve the stories of an imprisoned writer.
The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles by Norwegian Roy Jacobsen (in translation), the story of what happens in a small village in Finland in 1939 as people flee the invading Russians.
The Indian Clerk by American David Leavitt, the story of the strange relationship between an esteemed British mathematician and an unknown, unschooled mathematical genius.
Animal's People by Indian-British writer Indra Sinha, the tale of a crippled street urchin in an Indian slum and the intrigues that follow the arrival of a humanitarian doctor.
Man Gone Down by Michael Thomas, about a young black father of three trying to negotiate his way through the American Dream.

Last year's winner was Canadian Rawi Hage for De Niro's Game. The nominations are made by public libraries around the world. The winner is to be announced June 11.

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