HONG KONG (AFP) — A Myanmar woman whose novel follows the story of an insecure, gay, transvestite medium is one of five shortlisted authors for a new Asian literary prize, organisers said Thursday.
Nu Nu Yi Inwa, who lives in Yangon, has been nominated for the inaugural Man Asian Literary Prize for her novel "Smile As They Bow," which follows the story of the medium who is afraid of losing his younger partner to a woman.
The 10,000 dollar prize, which will be announced at a ceremony in Hong Kong on November 10, is for unpublished work from the region written in English. It is backed by the company that sponsors the prestigious Booker prize.
Among the other novels shortlisted is "Wolf Totem" by retired Chinese academic Jiang Rong, who drew on his experience as one of the first intellectuals to move to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution.
Jiang lived with nomadic communities on the Chinese-Mongolian border for 11 years as part of the Communist Party's drive to encourage intellectuals to live among the rural poor, before returning to Beijing to study political science.
"The diverse and outstanding finalists for the Man Asian Literary Prize are a revelation of fiction today in Asia," said Adrienne Clarkson, the former Governor General of Canada and chair of the judges.
"With an entrancing psychic geography, they challenge readers to an exhilarating discovery of ethical and imaginary worlds."
The other nominees are "Soledad's Sister" by Filipino author Jose Dalisay Jr., "Habit of a Foreign Sky" by Chinese-Indonesian writer Xu Xi and "Families at Home" by Reeti Gadekar.
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