Colum McCann says that his heart is “firmly back in Dublin”, where lots of family will have woken up to the news that he has been longlisted for this year’s Booker Prize, and that his mother would be “jumping out of her chair” at home in Deansgrange, in south Co Dublin, to hear him talk about his nomination. Apeirogon is based on the true stories of two fathers, one Palestinian, one Israeli, whose children were killed in the Middle Eastern conflict. “There could have been any number of Irish writers alongside me, that has to be said first and foremost. “I think the list, whether consciously or unconsciously or subconsciously, sort of reflects the new political moment, in that there are eight debut, first-time authors. The Booker Prize short list will be announced in September.

Source: The Irish Times July 28, 2020 10:07 UTC