The world of literature is changing, and with that notion comes the first ever graphic novel to be nominated for the highly coveted Man Booker Prize. Nick Drnaso's visual drama 'Sabrina' has made the longlist; his second graphic novel after the success of 2016's 'Beverly'.

Sabrina by Nick DrnasoSabrina by Nick Drnaso

The American artist could win the 50-year-old award this Fall after publishing 'Sabrina' in May this year, as the follow-up to his 2016 Los Angeles Times Book Prize winning graphic novel 'Beverly'. 

It's become a critical success with the likes of British best-seller Zadie Smith branding it 'a masterpiece' and cartoonist Adrian Tomine saying it 'demonstrates the inexplicable power of comics at their best'.

'Sabrina' follows the story of a missing girl, who leaves a trail of clues to her disappearance behind her in the form of a video tape. But as people should band together to solve the mystery, instead people find themselves divided by conspiracy and argument.

'Given the changing shape of fiction, it was only a matter of time before a graphic novel was included', the judges said of the addition in a statement.

Judge and crime novellist Val McDermid added: 'We all read it and were blown away by it. The graphic novel has increasingly become front and centre in terms of storytelling [and] we felt [Sabrina] does just what good fiction should do.'

The Prize sees the winner take home a generous sum of £50,000 and the list will be reduced to a shortlist of six in September ahead of the ceremony. 

Nominations at the moment include six UK writers, three American authors, two Irish and two Canadian - five years after the rules of eligibility changed to allow international English-speaking authors. In 2016, Paul Beatty became the first American to win the Prize with his racial satire novel 'The Sellout'. 

Other nominations this year include a debut novel from the up-and-coming Sophie Mackintosh entitled 'The Water Cure', and the world famous author of 'The English Patient', Michael Ondaatje, with his latest novel 'Warlight'. 

Ondaatje actually won the special 50th anniversary Golden Man Booker Prize this month for 'The English Patient' 26 years after its publication and initial winning of the 1992 Booker Prize with fellow author Barry Unsworth's 'Sacred Hunger'.

More: When Paul Beatty became the first American Booker Prize winner

Last year's winner was George Saunders for 'Lincoln in the Bardo'.

The Booker Prize ceremony will take place in London on October 16th 2018. 

Man Booker Prize 2018 Longlist:
Snap by Belinda Bauer (UK)
Milkman by Anna Burns (UK)
Sabrina by Nick Drnaso (USA)
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (Canada)
In Our Mad And Furious City by Guy Gunaratne (UK)
Everything Under by Daisy Johnson (UK)
The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner (USA)
The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh (UK)
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje (Canada)
The Overstory by Richard Powers (USA)
The Long Take by Robin Robertson (UK)
Normal People by Sally Rooney (Ireland)
From A Low And Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan (Ireland)