Debut novelists shortlisted for rich Irish prize

DUBLIN - Three first time novelists made the shortlist on Tuesday for one of the world's richest book prizes.

At 100,000 euros ($132,500), the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is the most lucrative prize for a single work of fiction in English. Nominations for the prize, whittled down to a shortlist of 10, are made by public libraries around the world.

Edward P. Jones' first novel "The Known World," which won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, faces competition from South African schoolteacher Diane Awerbuck for her debut "Gardening at Night" and Canadian Frances Itani's "Deafening."

The others on the shortlist are Damon Galgut, Douglas Glover, Arnon Grunberg, Lars Saabye Christensen, Shirley Hazzard, Christoph Hein, and Jonathan Lethem.

Moroccan author Tahar Ben Jelloun won last year for his story "This Blinding Absence of Light" on desert concentration camps.

The winner of this year's award will be announced on June 15.

- REUTERS