The Orange Prize for Fiction was launched in 1996, and is awarded to the woman who, in the opinion of five female passionate readers at the top of their respective professions, has written the best full-length novel in English. The prize celebrates ‘excellence, originality and accessibility in women’s writing from throughout the world’ and consists of a cheque for £30,000 and a limited bronze figurine known as a ‘Bessie’.
The prize came into being as a result of a meeting in 1992 in which a group of journalists, agents, reviewers, booksellers, librarians and publishers expressed their concerns about the fact that leading literary prizes often seemed to overlook important fiction by female authors. Judges are encouraged to choose only the books that ‘move them, that make them think and, more than anything, that they enjoy!’
The 2001 Longlist will be announced on 15th March and the shortlist on 12th April, and the Awards Ceremony will be held on 8th June 2011.
The winner of the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction was The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver. The winners over the past decade are:
- Home by Marilynne Robinson (2009)
- The Road Home by Rose Tremain (2008)
- Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2007)
- On Beauty by Zadie Smith (2006)
- We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver (2005)
- Small Island by Andrea Levy (2004)
- Property by Valerie Martin (2003)
- Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (2002)
- The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville (2001)
- When I Lived in Modern Times by Linda Grant (2000)
2010 Winner:
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The Lacuna Barbara Kingsolver |
2010 Shortlist:
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The Very Thought of You Rosie Alison |
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Black Water Rising Attica Locke |
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Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel |
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A Gate at the Stairs Lorrie Moore |
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The White Woman on the Green Bicycle Monique Roffey |