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Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Anne Tyler and Jamaica's Marlon James are among six finalists for the $77,000 Man Booker Prize for fiction.

James is the first Jamaican finalist for the prestigious prize, with "A Brief History of Seven Killings," which centers on the attempted assassination of Bob Marley. 

Hear Marlon James talk about his latest novel

The book is the Macalester College professor's third novel. It has already won an American Book Award and 

. The book has been optioned for a miniseries by HBO.

Tyler's "A Spool of Blue Thread" is one of two books by Americans on the list, alongside Hawaiian writer Hanya Yanagihara's "A Little Life." 

The Thread

The Man Booker Prize is awarded annually to an original novel, written in English and published in the United Kingdom. Two years ago, writers of all nationalities became eligible for the Booker, previously open only to British, Irish and Commonwealth authors.

The list, announced Tuesday, includes two books by Britons — Tom McCarthy's "Satin Island" and Sunjeev Sahota's "The Year of the Runaways — and "The Fishermen," by Nigeria's Chigozie Obioma.

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'A Brief History of Seven Killings' is the Macalester College professor's third novel. It has already won a slew of major American book awards.

Marlon James is a finalist of the Man Booker prize

Macalester's Marlon James on Man Booker shortlist

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