The longlist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, which at 100,000 euros is the most lucrative prize available for a single work of fiction, was announced yesterday, all 137 titles of it. As the Guardian notes, the initial nomination process allows for huge diversity:
“Although the titles will eventually be whittled down to a shortlist (a maximum of 10 books—still generous for a shortlist) composed almost entirely of literary fiction, at this stage all styles get their moment in the Impac spotlight. So we get everything from crime fiction—Harlan Coban‘s Promise Me is in the running—to chick lit, with the Richard and Judy-approved My Best Friend’s Girl by Dorothy Koomson.”
The books selected were all published between January and December 2006, so this year’s big hits aren’t on the list, but books like Orange Prize winner Half of a Yellow Sun, National Book Award winner The Echo Maker, Booker Prize winner The Inheritance of Loss, and Oprah Book Club selection The Road are.