IMPAC, the Irish literary prize whose shortlist was announced earlier this week, is considered one of the most prestigious international awards. Its prize fund of 100,000 euros is impressive, too. Another feature of note is the length of its long list -- this year it consisted of 137 titles, chosen by libraries across the globe. Not surprisingly, many big names are nominated -- among them Margaret Atwood, Philip Roth, John Updike and Cormac McCarthy. Not one of these authors made it onto the shortlist, which cannot boast such spectacular dimensions and, like many other prizes, consists of just eight books.

IMPAC has been true to its reputation as an international prize -- this time, only three contenders on the short list come from English-speaking countries, and several books have been presented in translation. It is pleasing to hear that, if one of these books wins, the translator will receive 25 percent of the hefty sum -- a very sensible decision, since the success of a book, at least a first-class one, depends greatly on the skill of the translator. Several items on the shortlist are in one way or other connected with themes from the Middle East; among them is "An Attack," by Yasmina Khadra, about a non militant Israeli Arab discovering that his wife was behind a suicide attack in a Jerusalem restaurant. Yasmina Khadra is in fact Mohammed Moulessehoul, an officer from Algeria who took a female pen name so as to avoid the need for his work to be approved by the army.

For Russians, it's nice to see Andrei Makine on the shortlist for his novel "The Woman Who Waited." Makine, originally from Siberia, studied French literature at Moscow State University, worked as a literary scholar and critic, and subsequently emigrated to France. There, he took up writing in French; after his novels were rejected by several publishers, a lucky break came with "The Daughter of a Hero of the Soviet Union" in 1990, and in 1995 he received France's most important literary award, the Prix Goncourt, for "The French Testament." It is quite unusual for a writer to excel in a language that is not his mother tongue, and Makine can be justifiably proud of his international success. "The Woman Who Waited" (translated from French) is set in the 1970s in Archangelsk, Russia's large port city on the White Sea, and tells the story of a woman who is still waiting for her lover to return from World War II.

The winner will be decided by a panel of judges, who, like the contenders, come from various countries. The winner will be announced on June 12. Perhaps the fact that this date is a national holiday in Russia is a good omen for Makine.