The Fishermen, a novel by Nigeria’s budding writer, Chigozie Obioma, is among the 13 novels shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize for fiction written in English.


The list was published today and also features the first Jamaican author in contention for the 50,000-pound ($78,000) prize, reported The News yesterday.

Marlon James is nominated for his third novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings, the story of the attempted assassination of reggae singer Bob Marley and its aftermath in the Jamaica of the 1970s and early 80s.


Also in contention are 2007 winner Anne Enright and writers from India, New Zealand, Ireland, the U.S. and Britain.
The list will be whittled down to six on September 15 and the winner will be announced on October 13 in London’s Guildhall.
First awarded in 1969, the prize’s list of previous winners features many of the literary giants of the last four decades, from Salman Rushdie and Hilary Mantel to Iris Murdoch and Ian McEwan.


The rules of the prize changed in 2013 to open it to writers beyond Britain and the Commonwealth.
Last year’s winning novel, The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan, sold almost 800,000 copies worldwide.
After considering 156 books for this year’s prize, the five judges chose the following 13 novels for the 2015 long list: Bill Clegg (US) Did You Ever Have a Family (Jonathan Cape); Anne Enright (Ireland) The Green Road (Jonathan Cape); Marlon James (Jamaica) A Brief History of Seven Killings (Oneworld Publications); Laila Lalami (US) The Moor’s Account (Periscope, Garnet Publishing); Tom McCarthy (UK) Satin Island (Jonathan Cape); Chigozie Obioma (Nigeria) The Fishermen (One, Pushkin Press); Andrew O’Hagan (UK) The Illuminations (Faber & Faber); Marilynne Robinson (US) Lila (Virago); Anuradha Roy (India) Sleeping on Jupiter (MacLehose Press, Quercus); Sunjeev Sahota (UK) The Year of the Runaways (Picador); Anna Smaill (New Zealand) The Chimes (Sceptre); Anne Tyler (US) A Spool of Blue Thread (Chatto & Windus); and Hanya Yanagihara (US) A Little Life (Picador).
The Fishermen is Obioma's first novel and has enjoyed rave reviews on BBC and New York Times.

Is it possible that this is another Achebe in the making

Nigerians everywhere... This nation is indeed blessed...

May the best man win

Good one... Its in our Nature to be great!

kettykin:
Is it possible that this is another Achebe in the making

I wish chigozie all the best in his quest to win the award. If he does, he will be the second Nigerian after Urhobo man, Ben Okri, to win the booker prize.

They call him Nigerian now, but Chinasa that was caught trying to smuggle drugs is an Igbo man.

seunmsg:



I wish chigozie all the best in her quest to win the award. If he does, he will be the second Nigerian after Urhobo man, Ben Okri to win the booker prize.

Achebe won the Prize after Okri.

seunmsg:


If I can still recollect clearly, Achebe won the Orange prize and not the booker prize.

http://www.themanbookerprize.com/man-booker-international-prize-2007

The Orange Prize is awarded only to women. Adichie is the only Nigerian so far to win it.

literatichick:


http://www.themanbookerprize.com/man-booker-international-prize-2007

The Orange Prize is awarded only to women. Adichie is the only Nigerian so far to win it.

Yeah, corrected.

The article quoted by the OP is incorrect. So far what Man Booker released is the longlist NOT the shortlist.

Big achievement for a debut writer however. Adichie was another Nigerian "debut" author who was actually shortlisted though she didn't win.

literatichick:
The article quoted by the OP is incorrect. So far what Man Booker released is the longlist NOT the shortlist.

Big achievement for a debut writer however. Adichie was another Nigerian "debut" author who was actually shortlisted though she didn't win.

The article was published by thisdaylive.com .
First there is a long list and a short list and a winner

kettykin:


The article was published by thisdaylive.com .
First there is a long list and a short list and a winner

Yes but the shortlist isn't out yet. The editors at This Day should edit the article to correct this.

Vicotex:
Fixed*

Later we still come to dis forum and discourse racism with bitterness and rancour!!!

He is biafran not Nigerian.

Please correct appropriately