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Man Booker Prize: Graphic novel nominated for the first time

Alex Bliss Sabrina by Nick DrnasoAlex Bliss

A graphic novel has made it onto the Man Booker longlist for the first time.

Sabrina by Nick Drnaso tells the story of a girl who goes missing, leaving behind a videotape with clues about her disappearance.

Chicago-born Drnaso, who is 29, won an LA Times book prize with his first collection Beverly.

"Given the changing shape of fiction, it was only a matter of time before a graphic novel was included," the judges said.

This year's Man Booker Prize longlist consists of six writers from the UK, three from the US, two from Ireland and two from Canada.

The eligibility rules were changed in 2013 to allow international authors to be nominated, as long as their book was written in English and published in the UK.

The longlist for the £50,000 prize will be whittled down to six in September before the final winner is announced on Tuesday 16 October.

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This year's longlist

Sophie Davidson / Serpent's Tail / Jonny Davies Sophie Mackintosh, Esi Edugyan and Sally RooneySophie Davidson / Serpent's Tail / Jonny Davies
L-R: Sophie Mackintosh, Esi Edugyan and Sally Rooney
  • Snap by Belinda Bauer (UK)
  • Milkman by Anna Burns (UK)
  • Sabrina by Nick Drnaso (USA)
  • Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (Canada)
  • In Our Mad And Furious City by Guy Gunaratne (UK)
  • Everything Under by Daisy Johnson (UK)
  • The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner (USA)
  • The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh (UK)
  • Warlight by Michael Ondaatje (Canada)
  • The Overstory by Richard Powers (USA)
  • The Long Take by Robin Robertson (UK)
  • Normal People by Sally Rooney (Ireland)
  • From A Low And Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan (Ireland)
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PA Michael OndaatjePA
Michael Ondaatje latest novel Warlight is about two orphans in post-war Britain

The list also includes Michael Ondaatje's latest novel, Warlight.

Ondaatje's epic romance The English Patient shared the 1992 Booker prize with Barry Unsworth's 18th Century slave tale Sacred Hunger.

Two weeks ago, The English Patient won the Golden Man Booker Prize at a festival to mark the literary award's 50th anniversary.

All 51 previous winners were considered by a panel of judges, who whittled them down to one from each decade.

The Man Booker Prize has been running since 1969 and is one of the most prestigious awards in literature.

Recent winners include Hilary Mantel, Paul Beatty, Marlon James and (last year) George Saunders.

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