Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction announce 2015 longlist

BAILEYS WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION ANNOUNCES 2015 LONGLIST

• Prize judging panel choose the 20 books that celebrate the best of fiction written by women in 2015

• Five debut novelists featured on longlist of UK’s only annual book award for fiction by women

• Eleven previously nominated authors also feature on the 2015 longlist

London, Tuesday 10th March 2015: Today sees the announcement of the next exciting chapter of the 2015 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction, as this year’s highly anticipated longlist is revealed. Now in its twentieth year, the Prize celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in writing by women in English from throughout the world.

This year’s panel of judges has read a total of 165 entries.  This has been whittled down to a longlist of 20 novels, representing the best of international fiction written by women between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2015.

The judges for the 2015 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction are:

Shami Chakrabarti, (Chair), Director, Liberty

Laura Bates, writer and Founder of The Everyday Sexism Project

Grace Dent, Columnist and Broadcaster

Helen Dunmore, Novelist, Poet and Winner of the Inaugural Orange Prize for Fiction (1996)

Cathy Newman, Presenter, Channel 4 News

“The Prize’s 20th year is a particularly strong one for women’s fiction,” commented Shami Chakrabarti, Chair of Judges. “All judges fought hard for their favourites and the result is a 2015 list of 20 to be proud of – with its mix of genres and styles, first-timers and well-known names from around the world. There is a very strong showing of UK writers and we are all incredibly excited about the final stages of the search for the winner.”

Rachel Cusk: Outline

Lissa Evans: Crooked Heart

Patricia Ferguson: Aren’t We Sisters?

Xiaolu Guo: I Am China

Samantha Harvey: Dear Thief

Emma Healey: Elizabeth is Missing

Emily St. John Mandel: Station Eleven

Grace McCleen: The Offering

Sandra Newman: The Country of Ice Cream Star

Heather O’Neil: The Girl Who Was Saturday Night

Laline Paull: The Bees

Marie Phillips: The Table of Less Valued Knights

Rachel Seiffert: The Walk Home

Kamila Shamsie: A God in Every Stone

Ali Smith: How to be Both

Sara Taylor: The Shore

Anne Tyler: A Spool of Blue Thread

Sarah Waters: The Paying Guests

Jemma Wayne: After Before

PP Wong: The Life of a Banana

“The inspiring female talent on this year’s longlist is exactly why Baileys, a brand that proudly celebrates women, is so honoured to be working with the Prize,” commented Syl Saller, Chief Marketing Officer, Diageo. “Now in our second year of partnership, we are once again thrilled by the range of excellent books that are featured on the list. This year brings even greater opportunity to share and celebrate the very best in fiction written by women to an ever wider audience”

Set up in 1996 to celebrate and promote international fiction by women throughout the world to the widest range of readers possible, the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction is awarded for the best novel of the year written by a woman.  Any woman writing in English – whatever her nationality, country of residence, age or subject matter – is eligible.

This year’s longlist honours both new and well-established writers, featuring five first novels alongside an author nominated for her 20^th novel.  Three authors appearing on this year’s list have previously been longlisted for the Prize and a further eight authors have been previously shortlisted, two of those twice.

The winner will receive an anonymously endowed cheque for £30,000 and a limited edition bronze figurine known as a ‘Bessie’, created and donated by the artist Grizel Niven.

The winner will be announced at a prestigious awards ceremony to be held in The Clore Ballroom at the Royal Festival Hall on 3^rd June 2015.

For the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2015, novels must be published in the UK between 1^st April 2014 and 31^st March 2015.  The prize is administered by Booktrust, the UK charity for books and reading.

Previous winners include Eimear McBride for A Girl is a Half-formed Thing (2014) and A.M. Homes for May We Be Forgiven (2013), Madeline Miller for The Song of Achilles (2012) and Téa Obreht for The Tiger’s Wife (2011).

• Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist announcement: 13April
• Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist readings: 2June
• Awards Ceremony: 3 June

ds.carswellgould.co.uk

-ENDS-

For press enquiries and interview requests for Shami Chakrabarti, Chair of the Baileys Women’s Prize judges, please contact the team at freuds:

Tel 0203 003 630

Email: baileys@freuds.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

• This year’s list carries thirteen British authors, two American authors, two Canadian authors, one Pakastani/British author, one Chinese/British author and one British/American author.
• The following authors have previously been shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction: Rachel Cusk (2007), Xiaolu Guo (2007), Samantha Harvey (2009), Heather O’Neill (2008), Kamila Shamsie (2009), Ali Smith (2001), Anne Tyler (1996, 2007), Sarah Waters (2002, 2006).
• The following authors have previously been longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction: Lissa Evans (2009), Patricia Ferguson (2007, 2005), Rachel Seiffert (2007).
• There are five first novels on the 2015 longlist.

BAILEYS Women’s Prize for Fiction

• In June 2013, the prize announced a new three-year partnership with Baileys and from 2014 the prize has been known as the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction.
• The Prize’s patrons are; Dame Gillian Beer DBE, Professor Lisa Jardine CBE, Jude Kelly CBE, Helena Kennedy Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws QC FRSA, Sue MacGregor CBE, Dame Jenni Murray DBE, Shami Chakrabarti CBE, Lola Young, Baroness Young of Hornsey OBE, Rosie Boycott, Liz Calder, Fi Glover, Daisy Goodwin, Muriel Gray, Bettany Hughes, Paula Kahn, Martha Kearney, Kirsty Lang, Sheena McDonald, Penny Perrick, Baroness Gail Rebuck DBE, Miranda Richardson, Gillian Shephard, Baroness Shephard of Northwold, Ahdaf Soueif, Sandi Toksvig OBE, Polly Toynbee and Joanna Trollope OBE.
  • The Prize’s board comprises of Kate Mosse OBE (Chair), Clare Alexander, Felicity Blunt, Jane Gregory (Company Secretary), Harriet Hastings (Managing Director), Karen Jones, Baroness Lane Fox of Soho, Nicola Mendelsohn, Joanna Prior and Carole Welch.
  • * The Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction was known as the Orange Prize for Fiction between 1996 and 2012.

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BAILEYS and the Prize share a mutual purpose, to celebrate brilliant women and their shared ambition is to bring the best women’s writing and female storytellers to ever-wider audiences.

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