Diverse mix of books in DSC Prize 2014 longlist

Ten books, penned by authors from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, are in the race for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, it was announced Monday.

The award, in its fifth year, had received over 75 entries, covering a range of issues, from political to personal.

Pakistan's Bilal Tanweer, Omar Shahid and Kamila Shamsie have made it to the list with their "The Scatter Here is Too Great", "The Prisoner" and "A God in Every Stone" respectively.

Indian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri's "The Lowland", Canadian writer of Indian origin Jaspreet Singh's "Helium", Meena Kandasamy's "The Gypsy Goddess", Rukmini Bhaya Nair's "Mad Girl's Love Song", and Shamsur Rahman Faruqi's "The Mirror of Beauty" - the only translation - are also in the list.

Afghanistan's Khaled Hosseini and Sri Lankan author Romesh Gunesekera have been chosen for their works, "And the Mountains Echoed" and "Noontide Toll".

"There was a tremendous mix here of themes, landscapes, styles, issues - both political and personal," said Keki N. Daruwalla, chair of the jury, in a statement.

"The narratives ranged from 18th and 19th century history to the Maoist era in West Bengal, from tribal rebellions to feudal atrocities," he added.

The shortlist will be announced Nov 27 in London and the winner will be declared at the Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2015.

Previously, the $50,000 award has been won by H.M. Naqvi for "Home Boy", Shehan Karunatilaka for "Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew", Jeet Thayil for "Narcopolis" and Cyrus Mistry for "Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer".