A Belfast academic has been nominated for a prestigious literary award for an analysis of Irish nationalism.
Richard English's Irish Freedom- already the winner of this year's Ewart-Biggs Memorial prize - is in the running for the Samuel Johnson Prize for works of non-fiction published in the UK.
English, who lectures in politics at Queen's University, said he was delighted to be long-listed for the accolade.
The list of 20 authors is sprinkled with heavyweights of the book world: Hermione Lee writing on US author Edith Wharton, Richard Dawkins on his lack of belief in God, Ian Buruma on the murder by a Muslim extremist of a Dutch director and Claire Tomalin's look at the life of poet and novelist Thomas Hardy.
The names of short-listed authors will be announced next month and the winner of the £30,000 prize is to be unveiled in June. English said there was some common ground between books on the list.
"A book by Ian Buruma on the killing of [ Dutch director] Theo Van Gogh concerns how his work offended Muslims.
"Richard Dawkins's The God Delusiondiscusses his lack of belief in God, while my book examines the emergence of religious difference in Ireland and how it affected conflict between nationalist and unionist," he said.
English, who was born in Belfast but grew up and studied in England, said his research for Irish Freedomexplored the careers of major politicians whose attitudes evolved according to changing times.