LONDON (AP) — Canadian author Michael Ondaatje has again made the Man Booker Prize list with his latest novel “Warlight,” weeks after his book “The English Patient” was named the best work of fiction from the last five decades of the literary prize.
Organizers on Tuesday announced the 13 books in the long list for the prestigious award, chosen from 171 submissions this year — the highest number of titles that has been put forward in the prize’s 50-year history.
Ondaatje’s “The English Patient,” which won the Booker in 1992, was named winner of the Golden Man Booker winner on July 8, a special award to mark the Booker’s 50th anniversary.
His “Warlight” tells the story of two orphans in London in the immediate aftermath of World War II.
“‘Warlight’ contains an incredible array of characters through whom Ondaatje tells the hidden, barely spoken, tale of war, especially as it impacts on children,” the judges said.
The list also includes the first graphic novel to reach the award’s longlist. Written by Nick Drnaso, “Sabrina” is a story of a young girl who goes missing — with the answers to her whereabouts possibly hidden in a videotape.
This year’s Man Booker Prize includes six U.K. writers, three from the United States, and two each from Canada and Ireland.
The list includes four debut novels and one from American novelist Rachel Kushner.
The list will be pared to six finalists in September and the winner will be announced on Oct. 16 at a black-tie dinner at London’s Guildhall.
The winner receives 50,000 pounds ($65,000).
The prize was originally open to British, Irish and Commonwealth writers. Americans have been eligible since 2014. NVG
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