Orange Prize for Fiction

The Orange Prize for Fiction (known as the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction from 2007 to 2008) is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes,^[1][2][3] annually awarded to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English, and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year.^[4]

The prize was established to recognise the contribution of female writers.^[5][6] The winner of the prize receives £30,000, along with a bronze sculpture called the Bessie created by artist Grizel Niven, the sister of actor and writer David Niven.^[7] Typically, a longlist of nominees is announced around March each year, followed by a shortlist in June; within days the winner is announced. The winner is selected by a board of "five leading women" each year.^[8]

The prize has since spawned other awards including the Harper's Bazaar Broadband Short Story Competition, the Orange Award for New Writers, the Penguin/Orange Readers' Group Prize, and the Reading Book Group of the Year.^[9][10]

In support of the 2004 award, the Orange Prize for Fiction published a list of 50 contemporary ‘essential reads’. The books were chosen by a sample of 500 people attending the Guardian Hay festival and represent the audience's ‘must have’ books by living UK writers. The list is called the Orange Prize for Fiction's "50 Essential Reads by Contemporary Authors".^[11]

Winners and shortlisted writers

References

External links

• Orange Prize for Fiction, official website
• Shortlisted works for the Orange Prize at LibraryThing
• Orange Prize for Fiction's "50 Essential Reads by Contemporary Authors" at LibraryThing