August 26, 2007	Sunday	Sha’aban 12, 1428

LONDON, Aug 25: The judges for the Man Booker Prize for fiction have announced the names of books that are in the running for this year’s award.

According to a press release, 13 books are in contention for the top honour. They were chosen from 110 entries __ 92 were submitted for the prize and 18 were called in by the judges.

Some of the prominent titles in the list are ‘The reluctant fundamentalist’ by Mohsin Hamid, The gift of rain by Tan Twan Eng, On Chesil beach’ by Ian McEwan and Winnie & Wolf by A.N. Wilson.

“This year’s long list is very diverse, with four first-time novelists as well as some more familiar names. All the books chosen are well-crafted and will appeal to a wide readership,” a statement by the judges’ panel said.

The shortlist will be announced on Sept 6 while the winner will be named on Oct 16.