The Man Booker International Prize 2015 Finalists’ List Announced

Ten writers are on the judges’ list of finalists under serious consideration for the sixth Man Booker International Prize, the £60,000 award which recognises one writer for his or her achievement in fiction.

The authors come from ten countries with six new nationalities included on the list for the first time. They are from Libya, Mozambique, Guadeloupe, Hungary, South Africa and Congo. None of the writers has  appeared on a previous Man Booker International Prize list of finalists. The proportion of writers translated into English is greater than ever before at 80%

The finalists’ list was announced by the chair of judges, Professor Marina Warner, at a press conference hosted at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, today.

The ten authors on the list are:

• César Aira (Argentina)
• Hoda Barakat (Lebanon)
• Maryse Condé (Guadeloupe)
• Mia Couto (Mozambique)
• Amitav Ghosh (India)
• Fanny Howe (United States of America)
• Ibrahim al-Koni (Libya)
• László Krasznahorkai (Hungary)
• Alain Mabanckou (Republic of Congo)
• Marlene van Niekerk (South Africa)

The Man Booker International Prize is awarded every two years to a living author who has published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language. 

The winner is chosen solely at the discretion of the judging panel; there are no submissions from publishers.  Lydia Davis won the prize in 2013, Philip Roth in 2011, Alice Munro in 2009, Chinua Achebe in 2007 and Ismail Kadaré won the inaugural prize in 2005.  In addition, there is a separate award for translation and, if applicable, the winner may choose a translator of his or her work into English to receive a prize of £15,000.

The 2015 Man Booker International Prize winner will be announced at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London on 19 May.

Man Group sponsors both the Man Booker International Prize and the annual Man Booker Prize. The Man Booker International Prize is significantly different from the annual Man Booker in that it highlights one writer’s overall contribution to fiction on the world stage. In seeking out literary excellence the judges consider a writer's body of work rather than a single novel. Both prizes strive to recognise and reward the finest modern literature.

Source: Press Release

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