Seven Novels Shortlisted for 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize

Posted on January 13, 2012

Seven novels have been shortlisted for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize. This is the largest shortlist for the annual prize. The shortlist usually only contains five books. The winner of the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize will be announced at a gala event in Hong Kong on March 15, 2012. Here is the shortlist:

The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad (Pakistan)
Rebirth by Jahnavi Barua (India)
The Sly Company of People Who Care by Rahul Bhattacharya (India)
River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh (India)
Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin (South Korea)
Dream of Ding Village by Yan Lianke (China)
The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto (Japan)

Chair Judge, Razia Iqbal says, "The judges were greatly impressed by the imaginative power of the stories now being written about rapidly changing life in worlds as diverse as the arid borderlands of Pakistan, the crowded cityscape of modern Seoul, and the opium factories of nineteenth century Canton. This power and diversity made it imperative for us to expand the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize shortlist beyond the usual five books."

The longlist was announced last October at the 2011 Singapore Writers Festival by judge Vikas Swarup. Swarup wrote the novel, Q&A, which was adapted by Simon Beaufoy into the Oscar winning film, Slumdog Millionaire.