US writers Kushner, Powers in running for Man Booker Prize
By Associated Press
Oct 16, 2018 5:00 AM CDT

LONDON (AP) — The Man Booker Prize is set to be awarded to one of six finalists, including a gritty story set in a women's prison, a novel in verse about a divided America and an environmental epic that has been likened to "Moby Dick" for trees.

U.S. novelist Rachel Kushner's "The Mars Room," U.K. poet Robin Robertson's "The Long Take" and American writer Richard Powers' "The Overstory" are competing for the 50,000 pound ($66,000) prize with a reputation for transforming writers' careers.

The other contenders are "Washington Black," the saga of an escaped slave by Canada's Esi Edugyan; Northern Ireland writer Anna Burns' Troubles-set "Milkman"; and "Everything Under" by 27-year-old British writer Daisy Johnson, who would be the youngest-ever Booker winner.

The winner will be announced Tuesday at London's medieval Guildhall.