Women’s Prize for Fiction 2013 announces judging panel

London, Monday 8th October 2012: Now in its eighteenth year, the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2013 was set up to celebrate excellence, originality and accessibility in writing by women throughout the world.  Known from 1996 to 2012 as the Orange Prize for Fiction, it is the UK’s most prestigious annual book award for fiction written by a woman and also provides a range of educational, literacy or research initiatives to support reading and writing.

The judges for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2013 have been confirmed as:

Miranda Richardson, (Chair), Actor

Razia Iqbal, BBC Broadcaster and Journalist

Rachel Johnson, Author, Editor and Journalist

JoJo Moyes, Author

Natasha Walter, Feminist Writer and Human Rights Activist

“This is a new departure for me and I am honoured to be working with judges who combine fine minds with, I suspect, great good humour,” commented Miranda Richardson.  “I look forward to sharing with them the delights of finding new insights into our existence, through the unique voices of the women entering this year's competition. It will be rigorous, and hopefully, fun. It is an exciting responsibility and I very much look forward to beginning the journey.” 

Set up in 1996 to celebrate and promote international fiction by women throughout the world to the widest range of readers possible, the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2013 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.

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

Known as the Orange Prize for Fiction between 1996 and 2012, previous winners include Helen Dunmore for A Spell of Winter (1996), Anne Michaels for Fugitive Pieces (1997), Carol Shields for Larry’s Party (1998), Suzanne Berne for A Crime in the Neighbourhood (1999), Linda Grant for When I Lived in Modern Times (2000), Kate Grenville for The Idea of Perfection (2001), Ann Patchett for Bel Canto (2002) Valerie Martin for Property (2003), Andrea Levy for Small Island (2004), Lionel Shriver for We Need to Talk about Kevin (2005), Zadie Smith for On Beauty (2006), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for Half of a Yellow Sun (2007), Rose Tremain for The Road Home (2008), Marilyn Robinson for Home (2009), Barbara Kingsolver for The Lacuna (2010), Téa Obreht for The Tiger’s Wife (2011) and Madeline Miller for The Song of Achilles (2012).

For the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2013, novels must be published in the UK between 1^st April 2012 and 31^st March 2013. The Prize is administered by Booktrust, the UK charity for books and reading.

Women’s Prize for Fiction 2013  - Awards Ceremony: 5^th June 2013

The Women’s Prize for Fiction 2013 was known as the Orange Prize for Fiction between 1996 and 2012.

The Prize’s patrons are; Dame Gillian Beer DBE, Professor Lisa Jardine CBE, Jude Kelly OBE, Helena Kennedy Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws QC FRSA, Sue MacGregor CBE, Jenni Murray OBE, 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, Dame Gail Rebuck DBE, Gillian Shephard, Baroness Shephard of Northwold, Ahdaf Soueif, Sandi Toksvig, Polly Toynbee and Joanna Trollope.

·   The Prize’s board comprises of Kate Mosse (Chair), Clare Alexander, Felicity Blunt, Jane Gregory (Company Secretary), Harriet Hastings (Managing Director), Karen Jones, Martha Lane Fox, Nicola Mendelsohn, Joanna Prior, Susan Sandon and Carole Welch.