South Korean and Chinese authors make Man Prize shortlist

War-torn Angola and Naples are among the settings for the six books shortlisted for the Man International Prize for literature on Thursday.

The panel of five judges selected works from Angolan, Italian, South Korean, Turkish, Austrian and Chinese authors for the £50,000 prize ($71,000, 63,000 euros), honouring the best foreign book published in English translation by UK publishers in 2015.

Five of the authors appear for the first time, with Chinese author Yan Lianke appearing for the second time with "The Four Books".

However, there was no place for Eka Kurniawan, who became the first Indonesian author to make the longlist with "Man Tiger".

"This exhilarating shortlist will take readers both around the globe and to every frontier of fiction," said Boyd Tonkin, chair of the judging panel.

"These six books tell unforgettable stories from China and Angola, Austria and Turkey, Italy and South Korea. In setting, they range from a Mao-era re-education camp and a remote Alpine valley to the modern tumult and transformation of cities such as Naples and Istanbul."

The winner of the 2016 Prize will be announced on May 16 at a dinner at London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

The 2016 Man Booker International Shortlist:

"A General Theory of Oblivion" by Jose Eduardo Agualusa

"The Story of the Lost Child" by Elena Ferrante

"The Vegetarian" by Han Kang

"A Strangeness in My Mind" by Orhan Pamuk

"A Whole Life" by Robert Seethaler

"The Four Books" by Yan Lianke