Jenny Offill and Colm Toibin

Colm Toibin: Tales of troubled families from Kenya and India, the musings of an ironic New York writer and the story of emotionally bruised Canadian siblings are contenders for the Folio Prize, a lucrative fiction award open to English-language authors of any nationality. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. The other finalists are U.S. writer Jenny Offill for her compact exploration of relationships in "Dept. of Speculation"; Colm Toibin for his tale of an Irish widow, "Nora Webster"; Scottish writer Ali Smith for her dual-narrative novel "How to be Both"; and Canada-born British author Rachel Cusk for her story-spinning yarn "Outline." In this file photo dated Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013, Irish author Colm Toibin poses during a photocall for the shortlisted authors of the 2013 Man Booker Prize for Fiction in London. Eight finalists are announced Monday Feb. 9, 2015, including Colm Toibin for his tale of an Irish widow, contending for the Folio Prize, a lucrative 40,000 pound $61,000 fiction award open to English-language authors from around the world. AP Photo/Sang Tan, The eight finalists for the 40,000 pound $61,000 prize, announced Monday, include Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor Kenyan family epic "Dust"; Akhil Sharma Indian immigrant story "Family Life"; Brooklyn-based Ben Lerner autobiographical "10:04"; and Canadian author Miriam Toew tragicomic tale of sisterhood, "All My Puny Sorrows." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.