Book news: Ones to watch on Booker list, Lincoln novel movie planned and more

Plus:streaming operation Storytel is to launch in the UAE and focus on original local content.

The Traitor’s Niche

There are no translations from Arabic in this year's Man Booker International Prize longlist, but Mathias Énard's inclusion for the Middle East-focused Compass is an intriguing proposition for local literature lovers. Elsewhere on the list, we were really taken with Argentine Samanta Schweblin's Fever Dream in January, while Ismail Kadare's "allegorical-burlesque portrait of 19th-century Albania", The Traitor's Niche, was a big hit with our reviewer in December. The shortlist will be announced on April 20. www.themanbookerprize.com/international

Lincoln novel movie planned

Talking of novels, we've been impressed by George Saunders's ghostly tale of the death of Abraham Lincoln's child, Lincoln in the Bardo, which is continuing to create literary headlines. This time it is because Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman – of Will & Grace and Parks and Recreation fame – have swiftly acquired the movie rights. Saunders is certainly enthusiastic: "This is going to be big fun," he told the Deadline magazine. "My hope is that we can find a way to make the experience of getting this movie made as wild and enjoyable and unpredictable as the experience of writing it."

Streaming stories

You may be familiar with Audible, Amazon's audiobook-download service. By its nature it is very English-language focused, so the news that similar streaming operation Storytel is to launch in the UAE and focus on original local content is incredibly encouraging. The Arabic service should be available in the autumn of this year. Storytel, which produces about 2,000 audio books in about 10 languages each year, is one of the world's largest audio-book producers. www.storytel.com