The shortlist of for 2009 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award has been announced, and it’s a varied selection. Libraries around the world–including the (former) Minneapolis Public Library–nominated 146 recent works of fiction for consideration. IMPAC’s judges narrowed the field to eight:
- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
- Ravel by Jean Echenoz
- The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
- The Archivist’s Story by Travis Holland
- The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles by Roy Jacobsen
- The Indian Clerk by David Leavitt
- Animal’s People by Indra Sinha
- Man Gone Down by Micheal Thomas
The winner will be announced in November. You can bet the authors are on the edge of their seats. The IMPAC is worth a whopping £100,000–about $150,000. Details are here. (Thanks to GalleyCat for the tip.)–David E
Musings from Magers and Quinn 
I must have missed something, what is the “(former) Minneapolis Public Library”? did it close, get renamed, or became a private library where only the elite can browse?
It recently merged with the surrounding Hennepin County Library system. St Paul struggles valiantly on with its own, separate library system.