The 2011 Man Booker International Prize finalists are announced

Thu, 03/31/2011 - 9:54am by sernabad

This year's Man Booker International Prize just became a little more interesting than usual when one of the finalists asked that his name be withdrawn.

This prize, related to, but separate from the Man Booker Prize, "...is awarded every two years to a living author who has published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language."

Many of the names on this year's list are familiar to American readers -- Amin Maalouf, Rohinton Mistry, and Anne Tyler, just to name a few.

But adding spice to this year's selection is spy novelist extraordinaire, John le Carre who said he was tremendously flattered by this honor but asked to have his name withdrawn because he does not compete with other authors.

The chairman of the judging committee said they must respectfully decline Mr. le Carre's request. "John le Carré's name will, of course, remain on the list. We are disappointed that he wants to withdraw from further consideration because we are great admirers of his work."