13 novels up for Man Booker Prize

LONDON, July 23 (UPI) -- Thirteen novels were nominated Tuesday for Britain's Man Booker Prize for fiction.

The 2013 long list includes "Five Star Billionaire" by Tash Aw, "We Need New Names" by NoViolet Bulawayo, "The Luminaries" by Eleanor Catton, "Harvest" by Jim Crace, "The Marrying of Chani Kaufman" by Eve Harris, "The Kills" by Richard House, "The Lowland" by Jhumpa Lahiri, "Unexploded" by Alison MacLeod, "TransAtlantic" by Colum McCann, "Almost English" by Charlotte Mendelson, "A Tale for the Time Being" by Ruth Ozeki, "The Spinning Heart" by Donal Ryan and "The Testament of Mary" by Colm Toibin.

The long list was culled from a pile of 151 books, organizers said. The roster will be further whittled down to a short list Sept. 10 and the winner of the $75,000 prize will be announced Oct. 15.

"The Man Booker dozen comprises an eclectic list of 13 novels that will surprise and intrigue in equal measure," the prize's website said. "Of the various predictions that have been bandied about as to what might be on the list none have even got close. This year's judges, yet again, have shown themselves to be independent of fashion. Diverse doesn't quite do the long list justice: seven different countries are represented on it and there is a strong hand of established authors selected -- Tash Aw, Jim Crace, Jhumpa Lahiri, Colum McCann, Charlotte Mendelson and Colm Toibin -- mixed with first timers."