The Man Booker prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original novel written in the English language and published in the UK and Ireland. This is the first year that novels published in Ireland are eligible for the prize, following a change in rules announced at the start of 2018. The winner receives a £50,000 prize but, more importantly, it can lead to global acclaim and recognition, as well as bumper book sales.
Mayo native, Sally Rooney, has been longlisted for her second novel Normal People, which will be published next month. It has been described as a moving portrait of a relationship which casts a cool eye on Irish society.
Tipperary author Donal Ryan’s From a Low and Quiet Sea has also been longlisted. It's his fourth novel and recounts the lives of three men as the story moves from war-torn Syria to a small town in Ireland. He previously made the longlist in 2013.
Anna Burns, a Belfast native, has been included for her fourth novel Milkman, the story of a young woman forced into a relationship with an older man.
The full longlist is:
Belinda Bauer (UK) – Snap
Anna Burns (Ireland/UK) – Milkman
Nick Drnaso (USA) -Sabrina
Esi Edugyan (Canada) – Washington Black
Guy Gunaratne (UK) – In Our Mad and Furious City
Daisy Johnson (UK) – Everything Under
Rachel Kushner (USA) – The Mars Room
Sophie Mackintosh (UK) – The Water Cure
Michael Ondaatje (Canada) – Warlight
Richard Powers (USA) – The Overstory
Robin Robertson (UK) – The Long Take
Sally Rooney (Ireland) – Normal People
Donal Ryan (Ireland) – From a Low and Quiet Sea
The shortlist of books will be announced on 20 September 2018 and the winner will be announced on 16 October 2018.
