Donal Ryan - Irish debut novelist on Booker longlist

Debut Irish novelist Donal Ryan will find out on September 10th whether he has made the shortlist for the 2013 Man Booker prize. Ryan’s novel The Spinning Heart joins novels by two fellow Irishmen on the longlist of 13 chosen from 151 entries. Colm Toibin’s Testament of Mary and Colum McCann’s Transatlantic feature on the eclectic list which includes authors from seven different countries. As Robert MacFarlane, the chair of judges, points out, the novels on the list "range from the traditional to the experimental, from the first century AD to the present day, from 100 pages to 1,000 and from Shanghai to Hendon". Ryan’s novel is one of three debut novels on the list. The others are The Marrying of Chani Kaufman by Londoner Eve Harris and We Need New Names by Zimbabwean NoViolet Bulawayo. The 2008 Man Booker prize was won by Aravind Adiga, for his debut novel The White Tiger. The prize is the world's most important literary award and has the power to transform the fortunes of authors and publishers. The shortlist will be announced on September 10th with the winner announced on October 15th. For the full list of longlisted authors see http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/longlist-2013-announced