Debut author and Nobel winner share Man Asian Literary Prize Shortlist

HONG KONG – A first time novelist has been listed alongside a Nobel Prize winner in the shortlist for the Man Asian Literary Prize, the leading international literary award for Asian writers. The five strong shortlist was announced today and includes writers from Japan, China and India.

The Prize judges announced the following 5 books from a longlist of 10:

Three Sisters by Bi Feiyu
Serious Men by Manu Joseph
The Thing About Thugs by Tabish Khair
The Changeling by Kenzaburo Oe
Hotel Iris by Yoko Ogawa

The three judges for this year’s Prize are Monica Ali, Homi K. Bhabha and Hsu-Ming Teo. Their comments on each book and full details on each author can be found here.

A total of 54 works from all over Asia were submitted this year and the overall winner of the MALP 2010, which carries a cash award of USD 30,000 will be announced at an award dinner in Hong Kong on Thursday 17th March 2011.

Professor David Parker, Chair of the Board of Directors of the MALP, said, "Our judges have chosen five very different novels, each in its own way brilliant and captivating, representing the achievements of three major Asian cultures: China, India and Japan.
Readers everywhere now have the opportunity to enjoy and compare the high and distinctive accomplishments of the novel across the breadth of Asia."

On Wednesday 16th March, the evening before the winner is announced; the shortlisted authors will appear in an event at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival. It is the only opportunity for readers to join the 2010 shortlisted authors for readings from their books, discussion and an audience Q&A.