The Orange Prize for Fiction 2012 shortlist has just been announced.
The six shortlisted titles are:
* Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan (Serpent’s Tail)
* The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright (Jonathan Cape)
* Painter of Silence by Georgina Harding (Bloomsbury)
* The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (Bloomsbury)
* Foreign Bodies by Cynthia Ozick (Atlantic Books)
* State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (Bloomsbury)
This year’s shortlist honours both new and well-established authors, including a debut novelist and a previous Orange Prize winner; Ann Patchett, who won the Orange Prize for Fiction ten years ago for Bel Canto (2002).
“This is a shortlist of remarkable quality and variety,” commented Joanna Trollope, Chair of judges. “It includes six distinctive voices and subjects, four nationalities and an age range of close on half a century. It is a privilege to present it.”
She continues, “My only regret is that the rules of the prize don’t permit a longer shortlist. However, I am confident that the fourteen novels we had to leave out will make their own well-deserved way”.
The award ceremony will take place in The Clore Ballroom, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London, on 30 May 2012.
Reading groups
Do you have reading groups shadowing the Prize?
We would love to hear from your reading groups about their views on this year’s longlist and shortlist. We have an all-male reading group reading On the Floor by Aifric Campbell and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, and so if you are an all-female reading group reading either of these books, it would be great to hear your views so we can see how they compare! Email us your reviews and we will publish them on this site, or post a comment.
