An Australian-born writer, Peter Finlay, living in Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim will be formally announced as the winner of the Man Booker Prize later this evening.
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DBC Pierre. Photo: Getty Images
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Writing under the
nom de plume
DBC Pierre, Mr Finlay beat off stiff competition from bookies favourite, Monica Ali from Bangladesh and one of the most prolific novelists of recent times, Canadian, Margaret Atwood.
Pierre's novel, Vernon God Littlehad won wide acclaim but his murky past might have mitigated against him.
Two-time winner, JM Coetzee, who was this year awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature was also short-listed with fellow-South African, Damon Galgut.
The other two nominees from a longlist of 117 were Clare Morrall, whom, like Ali was published for the first time and Zoe Heller.