2 Indian-origin authors among final 13 for Man Booker Prize

London, Aug 8 (UNI) Nikita Lalwani and Indra Sinha, the two Indian born authors, are among the 13 novelists chosen for the 2007 Man Booker Prize.

The longlist- the Man Booker Dozen- was whittled down from 110 entries, from across the UK, Ireland and the Commonwealth. Judges spent more than six hours deliberating on the final 13.

The shortlist of six would be unveiled on September 6, while the winner would be announced at the Guildhall in London on October 16.

The list is headed by author Ian McEwan, nominated for 'On Chesil 'Beach', a tragic love story set in the 1960s. He has already won the 1998 Man Booker Prize for Amsterdam.

Apart from McEwan, no other contender has been shortlisted in the past.

Nikita Lalwani, born in Rajasthan, and raised in Cardiff, Wales now lives in London and has been nominated for her first novel, ''Gifted.'' Her second novel, 'The Village', would be published in 2009.

Indra Sinha was born in India and spent his childhood in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Rajasthan. He set up a clinic in 1996 to help the 1984 Bhopal Gas tragedy survivors and has been nominated for Animal's People, a fictionalised story of one survivor.

His previous work, The Cybergypsies was critically acclaimed.

Sinha's another novel, 'The Death of Mr Love', was inspired from a true story, where the victim became a villain and the killer became a hero. ''As a direct consequence of this case the jury system in India, was abolished,'' he said in an interview.

The winner of the 50,000 pound book of the year prize would be announced in October.

Chair of judges, Howard Davies, said, ''All the books chosen are well-crafted and will appeal to a wide readership.'' The longlist for the Man Booker Prize 2007 is as follows: Nicola Barker - Darkmans Edward Docx - Self Help Tan Twan Eng - The Gift Of Rain Anne Enright - The Gathering Mohsin Hamid - The Reluctant Fundamentalist Peter Ho Davies - The Welsh Girl Lloyd Jones - Mister Pip Nikita Lalwani - Gifted Ian McEwan - On Chesil Beach Catherine O'Flynn - What Was Lost Michael Redhill - Consolation Indra Sinha - Animal's People AN Wilson - Winnie&Wolf UNI