US writer Anne Tyler, Jamaica’s Marlon James among finalists for Booker fiction prize

LONDON – Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Anne Tyler and Jamaica’s Marlon James are among six finalists for the 50,000-pound ($77,000) Booker Prize for fiction.

James is the first Jamaican finalist for the prestigious prize, with “A Brief History of Seven Killings,” which centres on the attempted assassination of Bob Marley.

Tyler’s “A Spool of Blue Thread” is one of two books by Americans on the list, alongside Hawaiian writer Hanya Yanagihara’s “A Little Life.” Two years ago, writers of all nationalities became eligible for the Booker, previously open only to British, Irish and Commonwealth authors.

The list, announced Tuesday, includes two books by Britons — Tom McCarthy’s “Satin Island” and Sunjeev Sahota’s “The Year of the Runaways — and “The Fishermen,” by Nigeria’s Chigozie Obioma.

The winner will be announced Oct. 13.