Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh in Booker 2008 longlist

MAN OF LETTERS: Writer Amitav Ghosh's novel Sea of Poppies selected for Booker longlist.

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London: The latest novels of Indian-born writers Salman Rushdie and Amitav Ghosh have been named in a longlist of 13 books for the 2008 Man Booker Prize for Fiction announced on Tuesday.

Rushdie has been entered for The Enchantress of Florence, described by some critics as his best since the much-decorated Midnight's Children, whereas Ghosh won an entry for his acclaimed Sea of Poppies.

The longlist, often referred to as the Man Booker Dozen, was chosen from 112 entries.

The titles are: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga; Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold; The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry; From A to X by John Berger; The Lost Dog by Michelle de Kretser; Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh; The Clothes on Their Backs by Linda Grant; A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif; The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher; Netherland by Joseph O'Neill; The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie; Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith; and A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz.

Chair of judges, former British minister Michael Portillo, commented: “The judges are pleased with the geographical balance of the longlist with writers from Pakistan, India, Australia, Ireland and the UK.

“We also are happy with the interesting mix of books, five first novels and two novels by former winners. The list covers an extraordinary variety of writing. Still two qualities emerge this year: large scale narrative and the striking use of humour."

The judging panel for the 2008 Man Booker Prize for Fiction is: Michael Portillo (chair), former MP and cabinet minister, Alex Clark, editor of Granta; Louise Doughty, novelist; James Heneage, founder of Ottakar's bookshops, and Hardeep Singh Kohli, TV and radio broadcaster.

The 2008 shortlist will be unveiled Sep 9 and the winner will be announced Oct 14.