The shortlist for this year's €100,000 (US$135,483) IMPAC Dublin Literary Award includes The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, In Zodiac Light by Robert Edric, Settlement by Christoph Hein, The Believers by Zoë Heller, Netherland by Joseph O'Neill, God's Own Country by Ross Raisin and Home by Marilynne Robinson, the Guardian reported.
Anne Fine, one of the judges, said the panel was not concerned with singling out books by big-name authors. "I am often amazed by how sloppy the books by massive names are," she said. "Sometimes we took a deep breath before agreeing that probably this book, had it been written by a debut author, would not have been looked at."