The Orange Prize for Fiction shortlist was announced today. The Orange Prize is awarded to women fiction writers published in the UK.
The six shortlisted books are:
- Billie Morgan by Joolz Denby: (Serpent’s Tail) - British 3rd, novel
- Old Filth by Jane Gardam (Chatto & Windus) - British 15th, novel
- The Mammoth Cheese by Sheri Holman (Virago) - American, 3rd novel
- A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian by Marina Lewycka (Viking) - British, 1st novel
- Liars and Saints by Maile Meloy (John Murray) - American, 1st novel
- We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver (Serpent’s Tail) - American, 7th novel
My reaction. for what it’s worth: I’ve vaguely heard of one of them (Jane Gardam)… and I’ve noticed the ‘Ukranian Tractors’ book in the reviews - hard to forget a title like that. The others are way off my radar. But I’m sure that won’t trouble the winner, announced on Tuesday 7 June, who will find herself £30,000 better off.
For more informed comments about the shortlist, see The Guardian: Biker chick is literary chic on Orange shortlist, The Independent: Ukrainian tractors lead race for Orange Prize Debut novelist leads the race for Orange Prize and The Daily Telegraph: Colourful lives of the Orange shortlist novelists.
A new award, The Orange Award for New Writers 2005, celebrating ten years of the Orange Prize, will announce its first shortlist next Monday (25 April). This prize will be awarded during the main Orange Prize for Fiction Award ceremony.