Achebe tapped for Man Booker

Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe won the 2007 Man Booker International Prize for fiction Wednesday, beating such celebrated nominees as Philip Roth, Margaret Atwood and Ian McEwan.

The $120,000 prize is awarded in London every two years for a body of fiction.

Achebe, 76, is best known for his first novel, “Things Fall Apart” (1958), and “Anthills of the Savannah,” published more than 30 years later. He has written more than 20 books, including novels, short stories, essays and collections of poetry.