The 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction longlist was announced today. This British award is given to the best novel written by a woman in English and published in the UK in a given year. Since many past winners (and nominees) rank among my favorite books (Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto; Valerie Martin’s Property; Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk About Kevin), I always look forward to its announcement.
Below is this year’s longlist, in alphabetical order by author. Given the disjunct between US/UK pub dates, some appeared here quite some time ago while others haven’t yet made it to US shores. (This is where the Kindle might come in handy—at least two of the otherwise unavailable books are available electronically to US readers.) It’s a diverse group, including four Americans, 13 Brits, one Moroccan and a New Zealander. Seven of the nominees are first-time novelists.
Will Hilary Mantel cart off yet another literary prize for Wolf Hall? Will Andrea Levy, the only previous Orange winner on the list, take it home for the second time? We’ll find out in June! Linked titles will take you to BookPage reviews.
- Rosie Alison, The Very Thought of You
Alma Books UK, February 2010; no US pub date scheduled - Eleanor Catton, The Rehearsal
Regan Arthur, coming May 2010 - Clare Clark, Savage Lands
Harcourt, October 2009 - Amanda Craig, Hearts and Minds
Little, Brown UK, no US pub date scheduled - Roopa Farooki, The Way Things Look to Me
Pan Books UK, no US pub date scheduled - Rebecca Gowers, The Twisted Heart
Black Cat, coming August 2010 - M.J. Hyland, This Is How
Black Cat, July 2009 - Sadie Jones, Small Wars
Harper, February 2010 - Barbara Kingsolver, The Lacuna
Harper, November 2009 - Laila Lalami, Secret Son
Algonquin, April 2009 - Andrea Levy, The Long Song
FSG, May 2010—look for a BookPage review in May - Attica Locke, Black Water Rising
Harper, June 2009 - Maria McCann, The Wilding
Faber and Faber UK, no US pub date scheduled—available on Kindle - Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall
Holt, October 2010 - Nadifa Mohamed, Black Mamba Boy
FSG, August 2010 - Lorrie Moore, A Gate at the Stairs
Knopf, September 2009 - Monique Roffey, The White Woman on the Green Bicycle
Simon and Schuster UK, no US pub date scheduled - Amy Sackville, The Still Point
Portobello Books UK, no US pub date scheduled—available on Kindle - Kathryn Stockett, The Help
Amy Einhorn, February 2009 - Sarah Waters, The Little Stranger
Putnam, April 2009
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