DUBLIN -- Canadian author Dennis Bock's first novel, The Ash Garden, was among the runners-up yesterday for one of the world's richest literary prizes, beaten by My Name is Red by Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk.

For Bock, making the short list for the 2003 International Dublin IMPAC Literary Award was a major achievement, adding to the acclaim his novel has already received.

"It was my big breakout book," he said yesterday from his home in Guelph. "It's just been a great ride."

The IMPAC prize, worth 100,000 euros (about $160,000 Cdn) is the richest award of its kind for a single work of fiction. Bock's novel was one of eight on the short list for the award.

Pamuk's book was originally published in Turkish and translated into English by Erdag Goknar.

My Name is Red was described by the judging panel as a murder mystery that is also a meditation on love and artistic devotion. Set in Istanbul in the 1590s, a sultan commissions a great book of his life and his empire, but such works of representational art is seen at the time as an affront to Islam.

For their own safety, the circle of artists working on the book are not allowed to know for whom they are working. But when one of them goes missing and is feared murdered, the sultan has to seek outside help to find out what happened.

The prize was established in 1996 by IMPAC, a productivity improvement company, and Dublin city council. Entries are received from more than 150 libraries in 40 countries.