Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat and one of the five judges of this year's Orange Prize for Fiction, this morning announced the names of the authors on the 2005 longlist at an event at the London Book Fair.
Now in its 10th year, the Orange Prize is the UK's only annual book award for fiction written by a woman. Established in 1996 with the aim of celebrating and promoting fiction by female authors throughout the world, it is open to any woman of any nationality or age writing in English. The winner receives a cheque for £30,000.
This year's longlist features both new and well-established writers, and includes seven first novels as well as books by two authors who have been longlisted in previous years. Anita Desai, who was longlisted for Fasting, Feasting in 2000 made the list this year for her latest novel, The Zigzag Way (Chatto), and Joyce Carol Oates, who appeared on the 2002 longlist with Middle Age, is back again three years later with The Falls (Fourth Estate).
Alongside Joanne Harris, the judging panel for the 2005 award consists of comedian and author Jo Brand, theatre director Jude Kelly and broadcaster Moira Stewart. It is chaired by Jenni Murray, the broadcaster and author best-known to her listeners as the longtime presenter of BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour. She described the longlist as "inspiring ... varied in style and subject matter and covering themes that are intriguing and original".
Speaking after the announcement, Joanna Harris expressed her enthusiasm for both the longlist and the prize itself. "I'm famous among my friends for the fact that most of my favourite authors are men and most of them are dead," she admitted. "But judging the Orange Prize has meant that I've come into contact with all these contemporary novels that I would have overlooked in the usual run of things. New books come and go: if you're not in the right place at the right time you miss them. And that for me is really the point of the Orange Prize - to try to ensure that that doesn't happen."
On the subject of her fellow judges, she said "No doubt we'll be throwing bread rolls at each other come shortlist time, but it's a spectacular panel. We all have our corners to defend and we're all tough enough to do so. I can't wait to get stuck into the next stage." To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Orange is launching a prize for new writers, to be awarded annually, and a 'Best of the Best' prize in which previous Orange Prize chairwomen will choose an overall winner from the 10 novels that have won the prize to date. The award ceremony will take place on October 3. The shortlist of the 2005 Orange Prize will be announced on April 18, and the winner on June 7.
The longlist in full
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (Doubleday)
The Great Stink by Clare Clark (Viking)
Escape Routes for Beginners by Kira Cochrane (Simon & Schuster)
Billie Morgan by Joolz Denby (Serpent's Tail)
The Zigzag Way by Anita Desai (Chatto & Windus)
Hickey Tatty by Christine Dwyer (New Island)
It So Happens by Patricia Ferguson (Solidus)
Away From You by Melanie Finn (Penguin)
Old Filth by Jane Gardam (Chatto & Windus)
The Mysteries of Glass by Sue Gee (Review)
Nelson's Daughter by Miranda Hearn (Sceptre)
Ursula, Under by Ingrid Hill (Jonathan Cape)
The Mammoth Cheese by Sheri Holman (Virago)
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka (Viking)
Black Dirt by Nell Leyshon (Picador)
The Remedy by Michelle Lovric (Virago)
Liars and Saints by Maile Meloy (John Murray)
The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates (Fourth Estate)
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver (Serpent's Tail)
The River by Tricia Wastvedt (Viking)
