BOOKS: Orange Prize for Fiction 2009 announces longlist

Spotting some South Asian writers, including SAJA board member (and former VP) V.V. Ganeshananthan, in the Orange Prize of Fiction's 2009 longlist. First, an explanation of the award:

The Orange Prize for Fiction, the UK’s only annual book award for fiction written by a woman, today announces the 2009 longlist. Now in its fourteenth year, the Prize celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women’s writing from throughout the world.

V.V. Ganeshananthan

Love Marriage

Weidenfeld & Nicolson

American

1st Novel

Michelle de Kretser

The Lost Dog

Chatto & Windus

Australian

3rd Novel

Preeta Samarasan

Evening is the Whole Day

Fourth Estate

Malaysian

1st Novel

Kamila Shamsie

Burnt Shadows

Bloomsbury

Pakistani/British

5th Novel

They are in some pretty fine company, including Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison. Here's the formal press release:

From: Amanda Johnson [mailto:amanda.johnson@mcsaatchi.com]

Orange Prize for Fiction Announces 2009 Longlist

Orange Award for New Writers shortlist announcement: 7 April
Orange Prize for Fiction shortlist announcement: 21 April
Orange Prize for Fiction shortlist readings: 2 June
Awards ceremony: 3 June

London, 18 March 2009: The Orange Prize for Fiction, the UK’s only annual book award for fiction written by a woman, today announces the 2009 longlist. Now in its fourteenth year, the Prize celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women’s writing from throughout the world.  

AUTHOR	TITLE	PUBLISHER	NATIONALITY
Debra Adelaide	The Household Guide to Dying	HarperCollins	Australian	4th Novel
Gaynor Arnold	Girl in a Blue Dress	Tindal Street Press	British	1st Novel
Lissa Evans	Their Finest Hour and a Half	Doubleday	British	3rd Novel
Bernadine Evaristo	Blonde Roots	Hamish Hamilton	British	4th Novel
Ellen Feldman	Scottsboro	Picador	American	3rd Novel
Laura Fish	Strange Music	Jonathan Cape	British	2nd Novel
V.V. Ganeshananthan	Love Marriage	Weidenfeld & Nicolson	American	1st Novel
Allegra Goodman	Intuition	Atlantic Books	American	6th Novel
Samantha Harvey	The Wilderness	Jonathan Cape	British	1st Novel
Samantha Hunt	The Invention of Everything Else	HarvillSecker	American	2nd Novel
Michelle de Kretser	The Lost Dog	Chatto & Windus	Australian	3rd Novel
Deirdre Madden	Molly Fox’s Birthday	Faber and Faber	Irish	7th Novel
Toni Morrison	A Mercy	Chatto & Windus	American	9th Novel
Gina Ochsner	The Russian Dreambook of Colour and Flight	Portobello Books	American	1st Novel
Marilynne Robinson	Home	Virago	American	3rd Novel
Preeta Samarasan	Evening is the Whole Day	Fourth Estate	Malaysian	1st Novel
Kamila Shamsie	Burnt Shadows	Bloomsbury	Pakistani/British	5th Novel
Curtis Sittenfeld	American Wife	Doubleday	American	3rd Novel
Miriam Toews	The Flying Troutmans	Faber and Faber	Canadian	4th Novel
Ann Weisgarber	The Personal History of Rachel DuPree	Macmillan New Writing	American	1st Novel

The judges for the 2009 Orange Prize for Fiction are:

Fi Glover (Chair), Broadcaster

Bidisha, Writer and Novelist

Sarah Churchwell, Journalist and Academic

Kira Cochrane, Journalist

Martha Lane Fox, Entrepreneur

"All the books on the longlist are there because each one, in its own way, is terrific in its ambition, quality and simple ability to entertain," commented Fi Glover, Chair of Judges. "We had a fabulous, if difficult, time narrowing the list down to 20 novels - and it's a wide open field."

The Prize was set up in 1996 to celebrate and promote fiction by women throughout the world to the widest range of readers possible and is awarded for the best novel of the year written by a woman in the English language.

“This year’s longlist reflects the exceptional diversity and calibre of international women’s fiction that the Orange Prize has championed since it began in 1996,” said Ian Smith, Head of Partnerships at Orange.

This year’s longlist honours both new and well-established writers, featuring six first novels alongside Toni Morrison who is longlisted for her ninth novel and Deirdre Madden who is listed for her seventh novel. Four authors appearing on this year’s list have previously been longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction, two of whom have also been shortlisted.[1]

Any woman writing in English, whatever her nationality, country of residence, age or subject matter, is eligible. The winner will receive a cheque for £30,000 and a limited edition bronze known as a ‘Bessie’, created and donated by the artist Grizel Niven. Both are anonymously endowed.

The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony to be held in The Ballroom at the Royal Festival Hall on 3 June.

Previous winners are Rose Tremain for The Road Home (2008), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for Half of a Yellow Sun (2007), Zadie Smith for On Beauty (2006),  Lionel Shriver for We Need to Talk About Kevin (2005), Andrea Levy for Small Island (2004), Valerie Martin for Property (2003), Ann Patchett for Bel Canto (2002), Kate Grenville for The Idea of Perfection (2001), Linda Grant for When I Lived in Modern Times (2000), Suzanne Berne for A Crime in the Neighbourhood (1999), Carol Shields for Larry’s Party (1998), Anne Michaels for Fugitive Pieces (1997), and Helen Dunmore for A Spell of Winter (1996).

www.orangeprize.co.uk

ENDS

___________________________________________________________________

For more information or to speak to the 2009 Chair of Judges, Fi Glover, please contact:
Press Enquiries

Amanda Johnson at M&C Saatchi:
Tel: 020 7543 4689 or 07715 922 180
Email: amanda.johnson@mcsaatchi.com

Or

CJ Stanley, Orange

Email: cj.stanley@orange-ftgroup.com

Notes to Editors

This year’s list carries nine American authors, five British authors, two Australian authors, one Pakistani/British author, one Malaysian author, one Canadian author and one Irish author.

(1)The following authors have previously been shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction: Toni Morrison (1999), Deirdre Madden (1997).

The following authors have previously been longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction: Marilynne Robinson (2006), Curtis Sittenfeld (2006) Toni Morrison (2004), Deirdre Madden (1997).

There are six first novels on the 2009 longlist.

About Orange

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