(dpa) - The eight novels shortlisted for one of the world's biggest literary prizes were announced by the organizing committee in Dublin.
The long list of titles contending for the 100,000-euro International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award was released in 2007 and contained 137 works, many of which were in translation into English.
The eight novels shortlisted include works by Patrick McCabe of Ireland, Russian author Andrei Makine and Sri Lankan writer Yasmine Gooneratne.
The shortlist includes: The Speed of Light, by Javier Cercas; the Sweet and Simple Kind, by Yasmine Gooneratne; De Niro's Game, by Rawi Hage; Dreams of Speaking, by Gail Jones; Let It Be Morning, by Sayed Kashua; the Attack, by Yasmina Khadra; the Woman Who Waited, by Andrei Makine; and Winterwood, by Patrick McCabe.
Last year's winner was Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson. Previous winners have included Turkish Nobel Literature Laureate Orhan Pamuk and Irish writer Colm Toibin.
Libraries from around the world - 162 in total this year - submit the nominations for the annual prize, which is the largest for a single work of fiction.
Dublin City Public Libraries administer the award, which is an initiative by the city council and IMPAC, a US-based productivity- improvement firm. It has been awarded since 1996.
The winner is due to be announced on June 12 in Dublin.