IRISH NOVELIST Emma Donoghue is among the six writers on the shortlist for the 2010 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, the leading literary award in the English-speaking world.

Donoghue, born in Dublin but currently resident in Canada, is nominated for her novel ‘Room‘, about a boy who learns that the world extends beyond the small square room in which he has lived his entire five-year life so far.

The other nominees are Peter Carey, Damon Galgut, Howard Jacobson, Andrea Levy, and Tom McCarthy.

There was no such luck for Ireland’s other contender, Paul Murray, who had appeared on the 13-strong long-list for his book ‘Skippy Dies’ but who was not named in the shortlist, announed in London this morning.

Australian Carey is one of only two writers to have already won the award on two occasions. Donoghue is the youngest of the six writers on the list, at 40.

The winner receives a prise of £50,000 (€60,200) but will also see their international profile rocket and sales of their winning novel rocket. Last year’s winner, Hilary Mantel’s ‘Wolf Hall’, has sold over half a million copies in the UK alone.

The winner will be announced on October 12 in London.