Orange yesterday announced the shortlist for the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction and book lovers are being invited to download an extract of each title to their mobile.
The prize, which is the UK’s only annual book award for fiction written by a woman, was established 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.
“The Orange Prize for Fiction has grown to become one of Britain’s most prestigious international literary awards”, commented Stuart Jackson, Communications Director of Orange. “The depth and variety revealed in this year’s shortlist reflects the range and calibre of women’s writing that the Orange Prize has championed since its inception fifteen years ago.”
The winner will receive a cheque for £30,000 and a limited edition bronze statue known as ‘the Bessie’, created by artist Grizel Niven. Both are anonymously endowed.
Extracts from all six shortlisted books are available to download for free by texting ‘prize’ to 60300
The extract download service is being powered by mobile reading firm GoSpoken.
The six shortlists titles are:
The Very Thought of You (Rosie Alison)
The Lacuna (Barbara Kingsolver)
Black Water Rising (Attica Locke)
Wolf Hall (Hilary Mantel)
A Gate at the Stairs (Lorrie Moore)
The White Woman on the Green Bicycle (Monique Roffey)
The award ceremony will take place in The Clore Ballroom, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London, on 9 June 2010.
