Three authors on Orange shortlist

Three authors have been shortlisted for this year's Orange Award for new female writers, to be announced on 4 June.

US writer Lauren Groff has been chosen for The Monsters of Templeton, about a woman returning to her ancestral home in the wake of a disastrous affair.

Leicester-born Joanna Kavenna is also shortlisted for Inglorious, about a London journalist facing a crisis.

Lauren Liebenberg's The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam completes this year's shortlist.

Based in South Africa, the author grew up in Rhodesia - now Zimbabwe - during the civil war of the 1970s, the period in which her novel is set.

The winner will receive a £10,000 bursary funded by Arts Council England, intended to help the writer pursue their chosen career as a novelist with greater freedom.

'Truly ambitious'

The Orange Award for new writers was launched in 2005 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Orange Prize for Fiction, which celebrates women's writing.

The prize is open to any female authors writing their first work of fiction in English.

"There were so many worthy contenders for our shortlist that it was a huge challenge to settle on a final three," said Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights group Liberty and chair of this year's judging panel.

"These three books are truly ambitious in scope and reflect the international nature of this prize."

The winner is announced on the same day as that of the main Orange prize, whose shortlist will be confirmed on 15 April.

Pop star Lily Allen was on the judging panel for the main prize but has since withdrawn her services, citing ill health.

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