Irish author, Emma Donoghue has made the Booker Prize shortlist with her book, Room.

Speaking about the announcement Sarah Bannan, Head of Literature at The Arts Council, said, ‘In Room, Emma Donoghue has created a gripping and haunting work of fiction, one which stays with the reader long after the last page. She brings life to an authentic and original voice, and her prose is beautifully crafted. A gifted writer truly dedicated to her art, it is a great pleasure to see the book recognised by the Booker judging panel.”

Fellow Irish writer Paul Murray, whose book Skippy Dies was on the longlist, has not been included.

Donoghue has garnered considerabel attention since her nomination for a book that was “triggered” by the Fritzl case.

Her sales have been significant in Ireland and although overshadowed by Christos Tsiolkas’ The Slap in the UK, she has sold well there.

Tsiolkas failed to make the shortlist.

The winner of the 2010 Man Booker Prize for Fiction will be announced on Tuesday 12 October at a dinner at London’s Guildhall.

The announcement will be broadcast on BBC News across television, radio and online.

The full short list is:
Peter Carey ~ Parrot and Olivier in America ~ Faber and Faber
Emma Donoghue ~ Room ~ Picador – Pan Macmillan
Damon Galgut ~ In a Strange Room ~ Atlantic Books – Grove Atlantic
Howard Jacobson ~ The Finkler Question ~ Bloomsbury
Andrea Levy ~ The Long Song ~ Headline Review – Headline Publishing Group
Tom McCarthy ~ C ~ Jonathan Cape – Random House