Posted Friday October 23rd 2009
by Nikesh Shukla

If there's one thing you can bank on with the John Llewellyn Rhys prize, it's that you won't find a more eclectic and diverse shortlist. This year's shortlist is no exception. Featuring writers from Nigeria, India, Canada, Australia and the UK, the shortlist shortlist comprises two works of non-fiction, a debut poetry collection, a collection of short stories and two novels.

Debuts by Emma Jones and James Maskalyk are up against prize winner stalwarts Aravind Adiga and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie whose short story collection The Thing Around Your Neck is her first work since winning the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2007.

Global issues are at the forefront of the non-fiction nominations this year, with both James Maskalyk and Tristram Stuart examining the issues of want and surplus from either side of the developed world. Maskalyk’s Six Months in the Sudan began life as a blog written from a hut during his time as a doctor working for Médecins sans Frontière, and the hardship and malnutrition suffered by the inhabitants of the contested border town of Abyei. In contrast, Stuart’s book Waste encounters grotesque examples of the profligacy of the West, and its direct consequence on the poverty and rising costs of food in the developing nations.

The full 2009 shortlist is:

  • Between the Assassinations by Aravind Adiga (Atlantic Books)
  • The Striped World by Emma Jones (Faber and Faber)
  • Six Months in Sudan by James Maskalyk (Canongate)
  • The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Fourth Estate)
  • Waste by Tristram Stuart (Allen Lane)
  • After the Fire, a Still Small Voice by Evie Wyld    (Jonathan Cape)

Have you read any of the above books? Let us know what you think of them. Agree or disagree with the choices? Any notable omissions? This is a really diverse list full of books with powerful themes, all equally balanced. Which one will win?

The winner will be announced at the end of November.

If you want to win a complete set of the shortlist, all you need to do is follow us on Twitter, tweet a review of one of the books with the hashtag #jlr09 and the best one will win a complete set of books.