Ann-Marie MacDonald (photo: Guntar Kravis)

Montreal author Ann-Marie MacDonald has been named a finalist for “America’s Nobel Prize,” the biennial Neustadt International Prize for Literature.

MacDonald is the sole Canadian among nine authors shortlisted for their ongoing literary achievements. The finalists are:

• Caryl Churchill (England)
• Carolyn Forché (U.S.)
• Aminatta Forna (Scotland/Sierra Leone)
• Ann-Marie MacDonald (Canada)
• Guadalupe Nettel (Mexico)
• Don Paterson (Scotland)
• Dubravka Ugresic (Croatia/The Netherlands)
• Can Xue (China)
• Ghassan Zaqtan (Palestine)

The winner will receive $50,000 U.S. at a ceremony during the Neustadt Festival at the University of Oklahoma in October.