Man Asian literary prize shortlist stages Booker re-match

Jeet Thayil and Tan Twan Eng, who last clashed on the shortlist for the Man Booker prize, are going head to head again after both authors made the final cut for the Man Asian literary prize.

Worth $30,000 (£19,00), the award goes to the best novel by an Asian writer, either written in English or translated into English. Indian poet Thayil is shortlisted for Narcopolis, set in the opium dens of old Bombay, and Malaysian author Eng for The Garden of Evening Mists, which takes place during the aftermath of the Japanese occupation of Malaya.

They are up against Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, selected for his novel Silent House, a "dark family saga", according to chair of judges journalist Maya Jaggi, set in a "decrepit mansion at a Turkish seaside resort, on the eve of a military coup". The shortlist of five is rounded out by Japanese writer Hiromi Kawakami's The Briefcase, in which the "ambiguous relationship between an office worker nearing 40 and her former literature teacher, a retired widower, is traced with astonishing delicacy and humour", said Jaggi, and Between Clay and Dust by Pakistani author Musharraf Ali Farooqi, the story – and tragedy – of a champion wrestler.

"Several of these writers have been celebrated in their own countries and recognised internationally, but never before have we viewed them collectively as Asian writers," said executive director of the award, Professor David Parker. "The Man Asian literary prize is the only award that places Asian authors from across the whole breadth of the region side by side and gives readers a fresh perspective on the best fiction from our part of the world."

Jaggi is joined on the judging panel by Vietnamese American novelist Monique Truong and Indian novelist Vikram Chandra. The winner will be announced on 14 March, with the winning translator, if there is one, to receive $5,000. Last year, the award was won by South Korean writer Kyung-sook Shin's Please Look After Mom, which has now sold 2m copies worldwide.

Once this year's winner is announced, the prize's current sponsor the Man Group will step aside. Spokesperson Harrison Kelly said the search for a new sponsor for the award was ongoing, but that the response has been "overwhelmingly positive".

"Since October we have been contacted by several Asian-based and global corporations about sponsoring the prize," said Kelly. "In fact we are currently in encouraging talks with potential partners. Of course these things take time and we are yet to finalise anything, but we are thrilled that so many people value the prize as much as we do and see sponsoring us as a unique opportunity to create a stronger presence throughout Asia."

The shortlist

Between Clay and Dust by Musharraf Ali Farooqi (Pakistan)
The Briefcase by Hiromi Kawakami (Japan)
Silent House by Orhan Pamuk (Turkey)
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng (Malaysia)
Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil (India)