Organisers of a new Asian literary prize to be awarded in November unveiled an initial list of 23 contenders Friday dominated by writers from India.
The inaugural Man Asian Literary Prize, backed by the company that sponsors the prestigious Booker prize, said 11 of the 23 candidates on the long-list were from India.
Authors from Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Japan, Malaysia, mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are also up for the 10,000 US dollar award, for which only unpublished works are eligible -- either written in or translated into English.
Peter Gordon, chairman of the prize, said response had been better than expected with submissions from almost every country in Asia.
"This first year`s submissions exceed our expectations both in quantity and breadth. We are very pleased at the reception this inaugural Prize has received throughout the region," he said.
The long-list was chosen from 243 submissions with the largest single group of entries from India, two-thirds from South Asia, and the rest from throughout East Asia.
The five short-listed candidates will be announced in October before the prize is awarded on November 10.
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