Peter Temple has been shortlisted for the Swedish Crime Writers Academy’s 2008 Martin Beck Award, for his multi-award-winning novel The Broken Shore.

One of the most prestigious international crime-writing prizes, the Martin Beck Award is given annually to the best crime novel in translation. The other shortlistees for the 2008 prize are John le Carré, Robert Harris, Deon Meyer and Andrea Maria Schenkel.

The award is named after Martin Beck, a fictional police detective in a Swedish crime novel series written by Sjöwall and Wahlöö. It was initiated in 1971 and has been won by such luminaries as Ruth Rendell, John Le Carré, Len Deighton and Alexander McCall Smith.

The winner will be announced on 30 November.