And Then There Were Eight

The shortlist of for 2009 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award has been announced, and it's a varied selection. Libraries around the world--including the (former) Minneapolis Public Library--nominated 146 recent works of fiction for consideration. IMPAC's judges narrowed the field to eight:

• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
• Ravel by Jean Echenoz
• The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
• The Archivist's Story by Travis Holland
• The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles by Roy Jacobsen
• The Indian Clerk by David Leavitt
• Animal's People by Indra Sinha
• Man Gone Down by Micheal Thomas

The winner will be announced in November. You can bet the authors are on the edge of their seats. The IMPAC is worth a whopping £100,000--about $150,000. Details are here. (Thanks to GalleyCat for the tip.)--David E