SINGAPORE – Twelve novels from Japan, Iran, China, India, Pakistan, South Korea and Bangledesh were announced over the weekend as the long-list for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize at the Singapore Writers Festival.
Featuring works of epic proportions by Haruki Murakami and Amitav Ghosh, the longlisted books deal with a wide range of subjects including the Opium Wars, the Iranian revolution, the rise of fundamentalism, the plight of aids sufferers in China as well as exploring relationships between the individual and family, parent and child. Featuring many million-copy selling books which have been translated into English for the first time, as well as debut authors and literary titans, the longlist for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize is the most diverse to be announced in its five year history, showcasing a panoply of tales from right across Asia.
The judges for this year's Prize are Pulitzer-prize finalist and author of The Surrendered, Chang-rae Lee, and Vikas Swarup, author of Q&A which was filmed as the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire. The judging panel of three is completed by BBC Special Correspondent Razia Iqbal, who is also chair judge. 90 books were submitted for entry in 2011 and the longlist of 12 books is as follows: AUTHOR, Country – Title (Publisher)
•JAMIL AHMAD, Pakistan – The Wandering Falcon (Penguin India/Hamish Hamilton)
•TAHMIMA ANAM, Bangladesh – The Good Muslim (Penguin India/Hamish Hamilton)
•JAHNAVI BARUA, India – Rebirth (Penguin India/Penguin Books)
•RAHUL BHATTACHARYA, India - The Sly Company of People Who Care (Pan Macmillan/Picador)
•MAHMOUD DOWLATABADI, Iran – The Colonel (Haus Publishing)
•AMITAV GHOSH, India - River of Smoke (John Murray/Penguin India/Hamish Hamilton)
•ANURADHA ROY, India– The Folded Earth (Quercus/Maclehose Press/Hacehette India)
•KYUNG-SOOK SHIN, South Korea – Please Look After Mom (Alfred A. Knopf)
•TARUN J TEJPAL, India – The Valley of Masks (HarperCollins India/4th Estate)
•YAN LIANKE, China - Dream of Ding Village (Grove Atlantic)
•BANANA YOSHIMOTO, Japan - The Lake (Melville House)
Chair Judge, Razia Iqbal said, "In scope, range and subject matter, our longlist presents us with the epic as well as the quotidian, the established writers as well as some on the cusp of greater success. But what connects them is a thing that happens when we read good fiction: the cumulative impact of sentence after good sentence is transforming for the reader. So, while it is hoped that the list reflects among the best of what is coming out of Asia, it also presents Asia to itself, an equally important mirror to hold up."
Chair of Directors of the Man Asian Literary Prize, Prof. David Parker said, "What this longlist shows is that if we are looking for books of the epic scale and stature of the great European nineteenth century novels, we must turn to Asia. Haruki Murakami's massive magnum opus 1Q84 and Amitav Ghosh's three volume epic of the Opium Wars, of which River of Smoke is the second volume, have a scale and ambition we don't often see in Western writing these days. Could it be that as the world's economic centre of gravity is moving eastwards, so too is its artistic energy and ambition?"
The longlist announcement was made at Singapore Writers Festival by judge Vikas Swarup and can be seen at YouTube.com/ManAsianLitPrize. The Prize can be followed on Twitter at @MALPrize and #MALPrize11, as well as on Facebook at facebook.com/MALPrize
The shortlist for the Prize will be announced on January 10th with the winner announced on March 15th at a black tie dinner in Hong Kong, the home of the Prize.
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