American authors make history with Booker Prize nods

Authors Joshua Ferris and Karen Joy Fowler have made literary history by becoming two of the first four American writers ever to make it onto the Booker Prize list. The 2014 ‘longlist’ was announced on Wednesday (23Jul14) – the first time Americans have been eligible for the coveted best fiction award in the 46-year-old history of the prize.
The literary honour has previously only been handed to citizens of Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth.
In announcing this year’s list, members of the prize committee revealed 154 books had been entered for the 2014 Booker Prize.
The list, which includes fellow Americans Siri Hustvedt and Richard Powers, now stands at 13 and a shortlist of six books will be announced on 9 September (14). The winner will be named in mid-October (14).
The books on the long list are:
Joshua Ferris’ To Rise Again at a Decent Hour
Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Karen Joy Fowler’s We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
Siri Hustvedt’s The Blazing World
Howard Jacobson’s J
Paul Kingsnorth’s The Wake
David Mitchell’s The Bone Clocks
Neel Mukherjee’s The Lives of Others
David Nicholls’ Us
Joseph O’Neill’s The Dog
Richard Powers’ Orfeo
Ali Smith’s How to be Both
Niall Williams’ History of the Rain.