Marilynne Robinson nominated for Man Booker International Prize 2013 Many of the other names on the list might, however, be unfamiliar to British readers. When asked whether he was surprised by some of the authors eventually chosen, the chairman of the judges, Professor Christopher Ricks, told the Telegraph: "We're not as surprised as you lot are. You all think of yourselves as terrifically well-educated, and a few writers you've never heard of and "Good God they're obscure!" Has one heard of half of the great painters in the world or the great musicians? He later admitted that, "Many of the names are people who 18 months ago I'd never heard of." He explained that around 150 writers were put forward by himself and the four other judges: the academic Elif Batuman, the novelists Aminatta Forna and Yiyun Li, and the author Tim Parks. "It's not a submission by publishers or authors: it's entirely a matter of the judges in the first place suggesting to one another things that their fellow judges should read," said Ricks. Certainly I changed my mind about some of the writers we discussed. And some of the books I most looked forward to reading were not among the final 10. When Philip Roth won the prize in 2011, judge Carmen Callil quit the panel in protest, saying "I don't rate him as a writer at all." Ricks, it seems, was keen to reach an amicable consensus. I did say from the beginning - and the judges concurred with this - that we should not put forward a list which would prompt any one of us to resign or to even wish that he or she had not taken part in the process. Recommending the list with enthusiasm, Ricks said: "One of the things I look forward to when May dawns is returning to the books and reading them simply for pleasure." The previous winners were Alice Munro in 2009, Chinua Achebe in 2007 and Ismail Kadaré for the inaugural prize in 2005. The 2013 winner will be announced on 22 May. The full list of nominees are: UR Ananthamurthy (India) Aharon Appelfeld (Israel) Lydia Davis (USA) Intizar Husain (Pakistan) Yan Lianke (China) Marie NDiaye (France) Josip Novakovich (Canada) Marilynne Robinson (USA) Vladimir Sorokin (Russia) Peter Stamm (Switzerland)