CBC reports that twenty-three candidates, including a leading 11 from India, are up for the inaugural Man Asian Literary Prize, worth $10,000 US. The award is backed by the same company that sponsors the prestigious Man Booker Prize, open to published authors from Britain, Ireland or the Commonwealth of former British colonies. The shortlist will be announced in October, and the award given out on November 10.
Peter Gordon, chair of the prize, says the 243 submissions came from almost every country in Asia. “This first year’s submissions exceed our expectations both in quantity and breadth,” said Gordon in a statement released Saturday. In an unusual move for a literary prize, authors may also submit their unpublished works online. “It makes the prize very, very interesting,” Gordon said on The Word, a BBC Radio program.