Ten authors were chosen from hundreds of entries to compete for a publishing deal and a Â£5,000 cash prize.
The competition is now in its 12th year and the winner will be announced at a gala dinner in October.
Last year's competition was won by Swedish author Martin Cathcart Froden's 'Devil Take the Hindmost'.
Peggy Hughes, manager of Literary Dundee, said, "The Dundee International Book Prize is a vital part of our work, and a key way in which we celebrate and champion new voices.
"This year's shortlist is a stellar mix of international talent and genres, and we're deeply excited to see which one will win."
Will Dawson, convener of Dundee City Council's city development committee, said: "Each year the quantity and quality of entrants for the book prize goes from strength to strength.
"I never envy the judges the difficult task they have of choosing just one winner from such a strong field, but every time they manage to select a deserving book to take the title."
The full 2016 shortlist is:
Not to be Reproduced by Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry (US)
The Margins by Jessica Thummel (US)
In Borderlands by Richard Strachan (Scotland)
London Clay by Amy Spencer (England)
Reading Through Binoculars by James Cole (England)
Shadow Jumping by Margaret Ries (Scotland)
The Life of De'Ath by Majella Cullinane (New Zealand)
The Shadow of Pure Light by Emile Cassen (England)
Ghost of a Writer by Helen Dann (England)
The Great Edge by George Gunn (Scotland)
Writers from New Zealand to Scotland's most-northerly tip have made the shortlist for this year's Dundee International Book Prize.