NEW YORK — Ha Jin's "War Trash," the fictional story of a Chinese prisoner during the Korean War, and Philip Short's "Pol Pot," a biography of the Cambodian dictator, were among the finalists announced Tuesday for the ninth annual Kiriyama Prize, given for books from and about the Pacific Rim.

Ha Jin, winner of the National Book Award in 1999 for his novel, "Waiting," is among five finalists in the fiction category for the Kiriyama award. The other nominees include Rupa Bajwa for "The Sari Shop," Perumal Murugan for "Seasons of the Palm," Kelly Ana Morey for "Grace Is Gone" and Nadeem Aslam for "Maps for Lost Lovers."

Besides Philip Short's biography of Pol Pot, nominees for the nonfiction prize are Luis Alberto Urrea's "The Devil's Highway," Charles Wohlforth's "The Whale and the Supercomputer," Masayo Duus' "The Life of Isamu Noguchi" and Suketu Mehta's "Maximum City."

Winners will be announced March 29.