A Mayo man is the only Irish author on this year’s Booker Prize longlist.
Colin Barrett, who grew up in Knockmore, Ballina is one of 13 international authors in the running for the major award which is worth £50,000 pounds sterling.
42 year old Colin was born in Canada and brought up in Knockmore.
His novel, Wild Houses, has been included as one of the 13 contenders for the 2024 Booker Prize.
The judges described his novel as 'a propulsive, darkly comic and superlatively written account of frustration and misadventure in a small Irish town'.
His work is set extensively in the north Mayo area.
His debut short story collection, Young Skins (2013), won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Guardian First Book Award and the Frank O’Connor International Award.
The shortlist for the Booker Prize ( 6 contenders) will be announced in September.
The overall winner will be announced in November at a ceremony in London.
