The thirteen nominees for the so-called long list have nine different nationalities – which is the most in a decade, writes The Guardian. And all the nominated books examine identity – the individual's or the nation's – according to the jury chairman Roddy Doyle.
This year, among others, "Sex and the city" star Sarah Jessica Parker and the Nigerian author Ayòbámi Adébáyò are part of the jury, which has also nominated, among others, Susan Choi, Natasha Brown and Benjamin Wood.
Kiran Desai, who was already awarded the prize in 2006 for "Bittert arv", is now nominated for "The loneliness of Sonia and Sunny" – a book that took her 20 years to write and which is the thickest on the nomination list.
Among the nominees are also two debutants, Ledia Xhoga and Maria Reva who follow three women in modern-day Ukraine.
The prize amount is approximately 640,000 kronor.
