books
Folio Prize publishes 80-name longlist
The English-language literature prize heads into its second year with an 80-strong list of considerations that includes titles from Dave Eggers and Margaret Atwood to debutant Sarah Perry.
Sixty of the titles were included as a result of a polling of the 235-member Folio Academy, while judges of the 2015 prize selected another 20.
Judges' chair William Fiennes characterised the selection as "both daunting and exhilarating."
"It's not just that the list has such range and richness. Reading the books, it's as if we're eavesdropping on a marvellous conversation about what a novel is and might be."
Nominated titles include David Mitchell's "The Bone Clocks," "Stone Mattress" by Margaret Atwood, "Perfidia" from James Ellroy, "The Zone of Interest" by Martin Amis" and "Lila" by Marilynne Robinson as well as "Kinder than Solitude" from Beijing-born short story writer Yiyun Li, "A God in Every Stone" by Pakistan's Kamila Shamsie, the sophomore novel from Jenny Offill, "Dept. of Speculation," and "Bald New World" from Asian-American author Peter Tieryas Liu.
Sarah Perry finds herself on the list courtesy of her debut novel, British literary sensation "After Me Comes The Flood."
A shortlist of 8 will be produced on February 9, with the overall winner to be announced at a prize-giving ceremony in London on March 23.
The 2014 prize went to American author George Saunders in recognition of short story collection "Tenth of December."
A full list of nominated titles can be found at thefolioprize.com. — AFP/Relaxnews, December 16, 2014
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