London, 08 April 2008: The Orange Broadband Award for New Writers, launched in 2005 in partnership with Arts Council England, announces this year’s shortlist today.

2008 shortlist

Lauren Groff The Monsters of Templeton William Heinemann
Joanna Kavenna Inglorious Faber and Faber
Lauren Liebenberg The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam

'This was a very strong year for first fiction,' said Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty and Chair of judges. 'There were so many worthy contenders for our shortlist that it was a huge challenge to settle on a final three. If there are any preconceptions that women’s fiction dwells only on domestic themes, this shortlist will blow them away. These three books are truly ambitious in scope and reflect the international nature of this prize.'

Authors who have written their first work of fiction can be entered for both the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction and the Orange Broadband Award for New Writers in any given year.

Moira Sinclair, Executive Director of Arts Council England, London said: 'We are delighted to be working in partnership with Orange to reward and encourage the best new writing by women in English. Our investment in the Orange Broadband Award for New Writers is just one example of that commitment, and not only champions new voices but catalyses new careers.'

Diana Evans took the first ever Orange Broadband Award for New Writers in 2005 for her debut novel, 26A. She has subsequently gone on to win the Decibel Award 2006 at the British Book Awards and was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award 2005. Naomi Alderman won the Orange Broadband Award for New Writers in 2006 and has since gone on to win The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year 2007 for her first novel, Disobedience. Canadian writer, Karen Connelly, took the Award in 2007 for her novel, The Lizard Cage.