News about Anne Enright

The judges of the Booker Prize have largely influenced their selection of this year's finalists, a book describing police and activists clashing in Ireland. After a full day of talks on Saturday, Prophet Song by Paul Lynch, 46, was chosen champion, with judges arguing that current events were not a 'determining factor' in their decision. However, judges Esi Edugyan's chairman acknowledged yesterday that although the latest Dublin mayhem was not "particularly front of mind" at the time, it did play a role in their discussions. "It wasn't the deciding factor, but I admit that it was something that did get raised," she said. One cannot let world events determine what one chooses as the best book ever published.'

With a third of the country's nominated books this year, the Irish Booker Prize has demonstrated the Irish's luck. Sebastian Barry, Elaine Feeney, Paul Lynch, and Paul Murray (Pictured: From left) all made the 13-strong list for this year's coveted literary award, implying that Ireland has produced the most ever nominees relative to population size. The Booker Prize has now awarded 37 Irish writers, including Anne Enright and Anna Burns.