Joining the ranks of fellow Blake Friedmann authors, Monique Roffey (THE WHITE WOMAN ON THE GREEN BICYCLE) and Christopher Nicholson (THE ELEPHANT KEEPER), Manu Joseph's second novel, THE ILLICIT HAPPINESS OF OTHER PEOPLE, has been shortlisted for the Encore Award, which has a prize of £10,000.
His debut novel, SERIOUS MEN, is published in 14 languages, and is a bestseller in Holland, now in its 4th printing. With SERIOUS MEN winning The Hindu Best Fiction Award 2010, and being shortlisted for: the Man Asian Literary Prize 2010; the Commonwealth Prize South Asia & Europe Best First Book 2011; the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize 2011 and the the ALOA Award, Denmark, Manu Joseph looks to add another prize to his mantle with the ingeniously constructed, THE ILLICIT HAPPINESS OF OTHER PEOPLE.
To see the full list of nominees, click here.
Praise for Manu Joseph:
'A refreshing read' - John Murray, Time Out
'Manu Joseph really is a fine storyteller. His narrative is rich with detail.' - Antara Dev Sen, The Asian Age
'Manu Joseph is brilliant' - Tom Sutcliffe, BBC Radio 4
'A searing new voice.' -- Megan O'Grady, Vogue
'Manu Joseph's skills as a writer are tremendous.' -- Manil Suri
'Joseph writes with extraordinary wit, cunning and sympathy about both family relationships and ultimate mysteries.' -- Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
Praise for THE ILLICIT HAPPINESS OF OTHER PEOPLE:
'The ILLICIT HAPPINESS OF OTHER PEOPLE is ambitious...It is a plot-driven yarn with themes of morality, sexuality, psychiatry and yet more science and philosophy….but it does not feel overburdened…quite an achievement.' -- The Economist
'A cocktail of character, culture and religion … exquisitely phrased without an excess of sentimentality.' -- The Daily Telegraph
'Plenty to enjoy…the key revelations are powerful.' -- Anthony Cummins, Metro
'Tense and intriguing … [with] striking observations… THE ILLICIT HAPPINESS OF OTHER PEOPLE is an engaging read that leaves readers with plenty to think about afterwards.' -- David Hebblethwaite, We Love This Book
'Both wittily funny and darkly serious.' -- Harry Ritchie, Daily Mail
'Very very affecting...this is a story which works perfectly well.' -- Kathryn Hughes, BBC Radio 4 Saturday Review
'I loved it...great one-liners that stick in the mind.' -- Billy Kay, BBC Radio 4 Saturday Review
'The use of language is really beautiful...sophisticated. Really well done, really interesting.' -- Hannah McGill, BBC Radio 4 Saturday Review
'The novel is anything but derivative. Joseph twists what I feared would be a book for people wanting a second White Tiger into a cocktail of character, culture and religion…Joseph's prose is exquisitely phrased without an excess of sentimentality. … the confident, immersing voice of ILLICIT HAPPINESSS promises readers this is not the last we've heard of Manu Joseph.' -- Christine Edwall, The Telegraph