Following in the footsteps of The Master

Now that the verdict is out on the winner of the third edition of the Man Asian Literary Prize, Colm Toibin can drop his guard. Last week he was understandably reticent.

The Irish author was "careful" not to compromise his role as one of the heavyweight judges of this contest that locates and salutes writing unpublished in English from Asia.

"There was something raw about most of these unpublished voices," he said, of the 27 long-listed titles he read for the judging. Also, there was "quite a bit of explaining" when it came to describing culture-specific elements.