More than 120 books have been nominated for the IR£79,000 annual IMPAC Dublin International Literary Award.
Authors listed in submissions from municipal libraries in 34 countries include Margaret Atwood, A S Byatt, Andre Brink, Peter Carey, Philip Roth, John Updike and John Banville.
The 123 nominated books were announced in Dublin today and include 25 works which have been translated into English.
Margaret Atwood's Blind Assassinreceived the highest number of nominations, at 11.
The short list will be detailed in March, and the winner identified by the six-strong panel of judges in May.
For the first time, the prize will be paid in euros, by then operative in Ireland and most other EU states, with the winner getting €100,000 euros (IR£78,766).
Previous winners of the award, now in its seventh year, are Alistair MacLeod, Nicola Barker, Andrew Miller, Herta Muller, Javiar Marias and David Malouf.
PA