Toronto author Redhill to vie for Man Booker Prize

Toronto author Michael Redhill is competing with the likes of Ian McEwan and A.N. Wilson for the 2007 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, considered one of the world's most prestigious literary honours.

Redhill was one of the 13 authors organizers named to this year's long list of contenders on Tuesday. He was recognized for his second novel, Consolation.

The other contenders, who hail from the U.K. and Ireland as well as Commonwealth countries like India, New Zealand and Malaysia, are:

• Darkmans by Nicola Barker
• Self Help by Edward Docx
• The Gift Of Rain by Tan Twan Eng
• The Gathering by Anne Enright
• The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
• The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies
• Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
• Gifted by Nikita Lalwani
• On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
• What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn
• Animal's People by Indra Sinha
• Winnie & Wolf by A.N. Wilson

Pitted against the two well-known, veteran authors McEwan and Wilson are four first-timers: Davies, Lalwani, O'Flynn and Docx, a 33-year-old who has become the youngest ever nominee for the £50,000 (about $106,000 Cdn) honour.

"This year's long list is very diverse," Howard Davies, judging chair and director of the London School of Economics and Political Science, said in a release.

"All the books chosen are well-crafted and will appeal to a wide readership."

Davies will be joined on the judging panel by poet Wendy Cope, author Giles Foden, biographer and critic Ruth Scurr and actress Imogen Stubbs. The long list was whittled down from 110 submissions.

Though previous long lists have included as many as 24 books, organizers decided to limit the tally to a baker's dozen this year.

The short list will be announced Sept. 6, with the winning author named at a ceremony in London onOct. 16.