Maine native Elizabeth Strout is among the contenders for one of the world’s most prestigious writing awards, Britain’s Man Booker Prize for fiction. Strout, who has won a Pulitzer Prize, is nominated for her novel “My Name is Lucy Barton,” which came out in January.

The book is among 13 on the longlist for the prize. South African novelist J.M. Coetzee also was nominated for “The Schooldays of Jesus.” The list includes four first-time novelists and five American authors. Six finalists will be announced Sept. 13, and the winner will be named Oct. 25.

Through a spokesperson, Strout issued a statement Wednesday morning saying she is pleased with making the longlist. “It’s an honor,” she said.

Strout is a Portland native, who grew up in Harpswell and Durham, New Hampshire. She graduated from Bates College and won the Pulitzer Prize in 2009 for her Maine-based story collection “Olive Kitteridge.”

She and husband Jim Tierney live part time on the midcoast.

She spoke at Bowdoin College in 2014 at the invitation of Bowdoin professor Brock Clarke, a novelist. At the time, he called her “one of the best living American fiction writers.”

“She’s one of those sly writers who can work in different modes, different traditions, all within the same book,” he said.


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