Orange Award for New Writers Announces 2010 Shortlist

Orange Prize for Fiction shortlist: 20 April 2010
Awards Ceremony: 9 June 2010

The Orange Award for New Writers, launched in 2005, announces this year’s shortlist today. All first works of fiction, including novels, short story collections and novellas, written in English by a woman of any age or nationality and published as a book in the UK, are eligible. The emphasis of the award is on emerging talent and the evidence of future potential. The winner will receive a £10,000 bursary funded by Arts Council England which is intended to help the winning writer pursue their work with greater freedom.

The 2010 shortlist is:

Author Title Publisher Nationality
Jane Borodale The Book of Fires Harper Press British Novel
Irene Sabatini The Boy Next Door Sceptre Zimbabwean Novel
Evie Wyld After the Fire, a Still Small Voice Jonathan Cape British/Australian Novel

The judges for the 2010 Orange Award for New Writers are:

* Di Speirs (Chair), Editor - Readings, BBC Radio 4
* Rachel Cooke, Writer and Columnist, The Observer
* Bernardine Evaristo, Novelist, critic and winner of the 2009 Orange Prize Youth Panel award for Blonde Roots

“Judging this year's Orange Award for New Writers has been a fascinating process and uncovered considerable raw talent and passion,” said Di Spiers, Editor of Readings at BBC Radio 4 and Chair of judges. “Amongst the many debut novels with real merit, the maturity of these three shortlisted writers set them apart; their story telling is seasoned and beguiling, their characters memorable, their vision arresting. Each of the three conjures an entirely different world and all immerse their readers in time and place effortlessly. Curl up with them - they are a real treat.”
The Award was launched in 2005 in partnership with Arts Council England. Renewing their commitment to the partnership with Orange in 2008, Arts Council England committed a further £30,000 over three years (£10,000 per year) for bursary awards for the winners of the Orange Award for New Writers. By offering a bursary to a novelist or short story writer for her first publication, the Arts Council is able to support the professional development of a writer at a crucial stage in her career.

Authors who have written their first work of fiction can be entered for both the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Orange Award for New Writers in any given year.

Diana Evans took the first ever Orange Award for New Writers in 2005 for her debut novel, 26A. She subsequently went on to win the Decibel Award 2006 at the British Book Awards and was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award 2005. Naomi Alderman won the Orange Award for New Writers in 2006 and has since gone on to win The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year (2007) for her first novel, Disobedience.

Canadian writer, Karen Connelly, took the Award in 2007 for her novel, The Lizard Cage and Joanna Kavenna won the Award in 2008 for her debut novel, Inglorious. Most recently, Francesca Kay took the Award in 2009 for her first work, An Equal Stillness.

Stuart Jackson, Director of Corporate Communications at Orange, said: "The Orange Award for New Writers was established to encourage diversity and promise evident in first works of fiction and this year’s shortlist is an excellent reflection of what is yet to come from these three fantastic authors.”
The winner will be announced at the Orange Prize for Fiction award ceremony which will take place on 9 June 2010 in The Ballroom, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, central London.