THE Scottish poet Robin Robertson is in the running for one of the most prestigious literary awards, the Man Booker Prize.
Robertson, who has been listed for his first novel, The Long Take, is one of 13 authors on the list, a series of titles that includes a graphic novel for the first time.
The chair of the award judges said that the long list's works reflect "a world on the brink."
The graphic novel Sabrina by Nick Drnaso is in the running for the £50,000 prize.
- A story of self and insight: The Long Take by Robin Robertson
The judges said: "Given the changing shape of fiction, it was only a matter of time before a graphic novel was included on the Man Booker longlist.
"Sabrina makes demands on the reader in precisely the way all good fiction does.
"Oblique, subtle, minimal, un-manipulative: the style of the pictures is the book’s world view."
Robertson is a lauded and award-winning poet, the winner of three Forward Prizes among other prizes.
The judges said of his first novel, The Long Take: "It is like a film noir on the page.
"A book about a man and a city in shock, it’s an extraordinary evocation of the debris and the ongoing destruction of war even in times of peace.
"In taking a scenario we think we know from the movies but offering a completely different perspective, Robin Robertson shows the flexibility a poet can bring to form and style."
Robertson, born in Perthshire in 1955, published his selected poems, Sailing the Forest, in 2014 and The Long Take was published in February 2018.
The longlist of 13 books was selected by a panel of five judges: the philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah, who was also chair, the crime writer Val McDermid, critic Leo Robson, writer and critic Jacqueline Rose and artist and graphic novelist Leanne Shapton.
The list was chosen from 171 submissions – the highest number of titles put forward in the prize’s 50 year history.
The other books on the list are Snap by Belinda Bauer, Milkman by Anna Burns, Washington Black by Esi Edugyan, In Our Made and Furious City by Guy Gunaratne, Everything Under by Daisy Johnson, The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner, The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh, Warlight by Michael Ondaatje, The Overstory by Richard Powers, Normal People by Sally Rooney and From a Low and Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan.
Mr Appiah said: "Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the times, there were many dystopian fictions on our bookshelf – and many novels we found inspirational as well as disturbing.
"Some of those we have chosen for this longlist feel urgent and topical, others might have been admired and enjoyed in any year.
- A story of self and insight: The Long Take by Robin Robertson
"All of these books – which take in slavery, ecology, missing persons, inner-city violence, young love, prisons, trauma, race – capture something about a world on the brink."
He added: "Among their many remarkable qualities is a willingness to take risks with form.
"And we were struck, overall, by their disruptive power: these novels disrupted the way we thought about things we knew about, and made us think about things we didn’t know about."
Four independent publishers are longlisted: Faber & Faber, Granta and Serpent’s Tail.
The shortlist of six books will be announced on 20 September.
The 2018 winner will then be announced on 16 October.
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