A Scottish writer, published by a small company in Glasgow, has spoken of his joy at having made the Man Booker Prize 2016 shortlist.
Graeme Macrae Burnet last night said it was "only beginning to sink in" that his novel, His Bloody Project, published by Saraband, is in the running for the most prestigious literary prize in the English language.
Mr Burnet, who said he has only become a full-time novelist about five weeks ago, said receiving messages of congratulations from Ian Rankin, Val McDermid and First Minister Nicola had been "amazing" and helped the realisation of being short-listed.
Mr Burnet, born and brought up in Kilmarnock, will only be the second Scot to claim the prize if he wins at a ceremony on October 25 - James Kelman won in 1994 for How late is was, how late.
Burnet's book, which centres around a 19th century murder, is on the short list alongside novels by Paul Beatty, Deborah Levy, Ottessa Moshfegh, David Szalay and Madeleine Thien for the £50,000 prize.
He said that being long listed "felt like a win", and added: "My attitude to having a prospect of hope, having been a supporter of the Scotland national team since 1974, is to prepare yourself for disappointment.
"But while your rational mind does that, of course you want to continue the ride as long as possible. I thought we had a 50/50 chance, and I certainly hoped it would be short listed."
On the novel, Mr Burnet said: "It's a funny thing, because it takes such a long time to write a novel.
"You go through spells where you think its abject and you go through spells where you think you are a genius.
"But I always had faith in the idea of the book, but the concept is one thing, it is all about execution."
In the third year that the prize has been open to writers of any nationality, the shortlist is an even split between two British, two US and two Canadian writers. Three novels from Penguin Random House are shortlisted alongside three from small, independent publishers including Mr Burnet's second novel.
Saraband is a small press based in Glasgow, run by owner Sara Hunt.
His Bloody Project has been sold to publishers in Germany and the US, and film and TV options are also "in the works".
Mr Burnet worked for many years as an English teacher in Europe and London, and worked for several years at TV companies in Glasgow.
The other novels in the running for the prestigious prize include Paul Beatty's The Sellout, Deborah Levy' Hot Milk, Ottessa Moshfegh's Eileen, David Szalay' All That Man Is and Madeleine Thien's Do Not Say We Have Nothing.
Mr Burnet, who is currently working on a sequel to his first novel The Disappearance of Adle Bedeau, said he was delighted for his publisher Saraband, who had shown faith in his writing and "they had backed the book when no one else wanted it. We are now very close and I feel this is a success for everyone. It's a Leicester City story maybe [referring to the unheralded team that won the English Premier League last season]."
He added: "It would be quite something to follow in the footsteps of James Kelman - I am a huge fan, he is a very significant figure."
Deborah Levy is the only previously-shortlisted author (for Swimming Home in 2012).
The shortlist was chosen from 155 submissions.
The shortlisted authors each receive £2,500 and a specially bound edition of their book. The winner will receive a further £50,000.
First awarded in 1969, the Man Booker Prize is recognised as the leading prize for literary fiction written in English.
Its list of winners include Salman Rushdie, Hilary Mantel, Iris Murdoch, James Kelman and Ian McEwan among others.
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