Orange to withdraw sponsorship of women’s prize for fiction
Mobile services company will not be renewing its sponsorship of the book awards that have borne its name for 17 yearsIn one of the biggest upsets in literary prize history, the mobile services company Orange has announced this morning that it will not ...
Orange is not the only fruit: why book prizes, not sponsors, matter to writers
Orange's decision to withdraw its sponsorship of the women's prize for fiction is not the end of the world. What matters is not what the prize is called, but what it representsWaiting with the five other shortlisted novelists 12 years ago, as the chair...
Out in paperback: May fiction
Some prize picks appear this month, including Madeline Miller's intricate The Song of Achilles, Georgina Harding's Painter of Silence and Erin Morgenstern's enchanting The Night CircusTwo Orange prize-shortlisted novels appear in paperback this month. ...
Paperback Q&A: Madeline Miller on The Song of Achillles
The author and classicist describes the inspiration behind her Orange prize-shortlisted first novel, which unravels the mysteries of the IliadHow did you come to write The Song of Achilles?Almost accidentally. Although I'd always loved writing and Clas...
Wooden spoon
As the fuss surrounding the Pulitzer and Orwell prizes shows, book awards are increasingly more about hype than substanceThe great literary boom of 1980 to 2010 is over, but its glittering prizes still linger, like discarded party favours the morning a...
Paperback Q&A: Cynthia Ozick on Foreign Bodies
The 84-year-old author reveals the highs and lows of writing the novel which has been shortlisted for the Orange prize 2012How did you come to write Foreign Bodies? A novel can be set in motion by an incident, a character, a location, a mood – by any...
Orange prize 2012: Cynthia Ozick installed as favourite to win
Author celebrating her 84th birthday joins previous winner Ann Patchett and Booker winner Anne Enright on six-strong shortlistCynthia Ozick celebrated her 84th birthday on Tuesday and news that her seventh novel, Foreign Bodies, has been shortlisted fo...
Idol thoughts
Move over Booker and Pulitzer prizes ... there's a new talent show coming to the West Cork literary festival. Writers, are you ready to face the judges?Over the last few decades, books prizes have become commonplace and a key marketing tool for authors...
Who says you can’t write a good novel at 80? Cynthia Ozick has
Martin Amis dismissed octogenarian novelists. So did Simone de Beauvoir. But a writer should be judged on their work, not their ageCynthia Ozick, whose novel, Foreign Bodies, has been shortlisted for the Orange Prize, is not keen on her age being menti...
Pulitzer should take a leaf out of the Orange prize’s book
A rickety shortlist doomed Pulitzer judges' attempts to award a fiction prize this year – they should see how the Orange prize does itThe news that this year's Pulitzer prize, one of the premier US literary trophies, now in its 96th year, decided no...
Orange prize shortlist 2012 – in pictures
This year's Orange prize shortlist features books set in 1950s New York, Nazi-occupied Paris, postwar Romania, ancient Greece and the Amazonian rainforest. Discover the stories and read reviews here
Orange prize 2012 shortlist puts Ann Patchett in running for second victory
State of Wonder features on list of six contenders for women's fiction prize, with 84-year-old and Booker winner among rivalsGallery: Discover the shortlist in picturesFormer Orange prize winner Ann Patchett is in the running for the award once more. S...
