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Jaipur, Jan 24 (IANS) Eminent Kannada writer U.R Ananthamurthy was Thursday declared the Man Booker International Prize 2013 finalist from India at a special session at the Jaipur Literature Festival. He is one of the 10 finalists shortlisted by a panel of five judges for the 60,000 pounds award. The list includes Aharon Appelfeld (Israel), Lydia Davis (US), Intizar Husain (Pakistan), Yan Lianke (China), Marie NDiaye (France), Josip Novakovich (Canada), Marilynne Robinson (US), Vladimir Sorokin (Russia) and Peter Stamm (Switzerland). The jury comprised literary critic Christopher Ricks, author and essayist Elif Batuman, writer and broadcaster Aminatta Forna, novelist Yiyun Li, and author and academic Tim Parks. The prize will be awarded to the winner in London on May 22, 2013. The Man Booker International Prize is awarded every two years to a living author who has published a substantial body of work either written or translated in English. Announcing the list, jury chair Christopher Ricks said: "Some of these men and women are in their 80s while the youngest are in their 40s and 50s. They write in ways that are astonishingly different." A total of 150 bodies of work were considered for the 10 finalists this year. Indian literature has been represented by the Kannada language this year with the inclusion of Ananthamurthy. The 73-year-old writer, one of the pioneers of the Navya (new wave) movement in Kannada literature, has been honoured by the Indian government with thee Jnanpith award and the Padma Bhushan. In 2012, he won the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature for "Bharatipura". Ananthamurthy, also an academic and a poet, is known for novels like "Samskara", "Avasthe", "Bhava" and a formidable body of poetry and short stories. Ananthamurthy is also at the forefront of the movement for "bhasa" or vernacular literature revival through translations in the country. A source in the International Man Booker committee said Ananthamurthy's nomination was an honour for India. Earlier Salman Rushdie, a writer of Indian origin, was awarded the Booker of Booker Prize for his oeuvre of work on the 40th anniversary of the Booker prize in 2008.
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