A Dublin author has made the shortlist in the First Novel Category of the 2003 Whitbread Book Awards. Mr Paul Murray (28), made the list with his debut novel, An Evening of Long Goodbyes.
Murray's comic novel tells the story of Dubliner Charlie Hythloday who squanders his family inheritance in a series of misadventures and drunken escapades.
A panel of three judges, instructed to choose "well-written, enjoyable books that they would strongly recommend anyone to read", said Murray's was a typical Irish novel of "extraordinary wit and dexterity.
"Big, convoluted, with a cast of engaging characters, the story . . . is compelling, brilliantly constructed and very funny."
DBC Pierre, who lives in Co Leitrim, also made the shortlist in the First Novel category with Vernon God Little. Last month, he was awarded the Booker Prize for the same novel.
Pierre (42), whose real name is Peter Finlay, was born in Australia and has lived in north Leitrim for the past few years. Vernon God Little is a dark comedy about a teenager in a backwater Texas town who is unfairly blamed for a high school massacre.
The other two nominees are Buddha Da by Anne Donovan and An Empty Room by Talitha Stevenson.