The shortlist for the 2015 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction has been announced:
Rachel Cusk, Laline Paull, Kamila Shamsie, Ali Smith, Anne Tyler, and Sarah Waters.
The prize, formerly known as the Orange Prize for Fiction, is now in its 20th year, and open to any woman of any nationality writing in English on any subject. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was shortlisted in 2014 for Americanah.
This year, four of the shortlisted authors hail from Britain, while there is one Pakistani writer – Shamsie – and one American, Tyler.
Tyler, who is shortlisted for her 20th novel, A Spool of Blue Thread, is best known for Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant (1983), The Accidental Tourist (1985), and Breathing Lessons (1988) – all three of which were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, with the third winning it.
Paull, shortlisted for The Bees, is the only debut novelist on the list, with the other five authors having been shortlisted before.
Waters is currently the favourite, with bookmaker William Hill putting her at odds of 2/1 to win the award. South Africans can look forward to meeting her at this year’s Franschhoek Literary Festival. (See the FLF programme here.)
The winner receives £30,000 (about R530 000), and a bronze statue called “the Bessie” made by the artist Grizel Niven.
None of those listed have won the prize before, though all but Paull have been previously shortlisted.
Chair of judges Shami Chakrabarti told The Guardian: “They are all fantastic. They are very different in various ways – subject matter, genre, style. Some are sparse, some poetic. What they have in common is that you can’t put them down.”
The winner will be announced on the 3rd of June.
Book details
- Outline by Rachel Cusk
EAN: 9780571233625
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- The Bees by Laline Paull
EAN: 9780007557745
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- A God in Every Stone by Kamila Shamsie
EAN: 9781408847237
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- How to be Both by Ali Smith
EAN: 9780141025209
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- A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
EAN: 9780701189525
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- The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
EAN: 9780349004587
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