19.15pm, London, 4 June 2008 – British debut author Joanna Kavenna has won the 2008 Orange Broadband Award for New Writers with her novel Inglorious (Faber & Faber).

Chair of Judges, Shami Chakrabarti, presented the £10,000 bursary, provided by Arts Council England, to the author at the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction awards ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London.

Shami said: ”Dostoevsky meets Bridget Jones in this glorious story of pain, humour and hope. Joanna Kavenna combines courage and elegance in creating an anti-heroine for the 21st century.”
Launched in 2005 as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction, the emphasis of the Orange Broadband Award for New Writers is on emerging talent and the evidence of future potential.

All first works of fiction - including novels, short story collections and novellas, written in English by a woman of any age or nationality and published as a book in the UK - are eligible. First time authors can be entered for both the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction and the Orange Broadband Award for New Writers in any one year.

The winner of the inaugural Orange Broadband Award for New Writers in 2005 was Diana Evans for her novel 26a. Since her win, Diana has gone on to achieve notable success in a number of other literary awards.* Naomi Alderman took the award the following year for her novel Disobedience and has since gone on to win The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year 2007. Canadian writer Karen Connelly took the Award in 2007 for her novel The Lizard Cage.

The Award was launched in 2005 in partnership with Arts Council England. Renewing their commitment to the partnership with Orange, Arts Council England recently committed a further £30,000 towards bursary awards for the winners of the Orange Broadband Award for New Writers. By offering a bursary to a novelist or short story writer for her first publication, the Arts Council is able to support the professional development of a writer at a crucial stage in her career.

Moira Sinclair, Executive Director of Arts Council England, London, said: “Arts Council England would like to congratulate Joanna Kavenna on winning this year’s Orange Broadband Award for New Writers. We are very pleased to be supporting such an exciting writer at this important point in her career. We welcome this partnership with Orange as part of our commitment to new writing, diversity and internationalism. It's wonderful that this prestigious award can bring excellent writing to readers across the country, and the world.”

Joanna Kavenna was born in Leicester and wrote her first book at 13. Her first published book, The Ice Museum was critically acclaimed and was followed by Inglorious. She has held writing fellowships at St Antony’s College, Oxford and St John’s College, Cambridge and her writing has appeared in the London Review of Books, the Guardian and Observer, the Times Literary Supplement, the International Herald Tribune, the Spectator and the Telegraph, among other publications.

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For more information:
Amanda Johnson or Naomi Li at M&C Saatchi:
Tel: 020 7543 4580/0207 544 3687 or 07715 922 180/07980 697 129
Email: amanda.johnson@mcsaatchi.com or naomi.li@mcsaatchi.com


If you would like to speak to Joanna Kavenna after the 5th June 2008, please contact Rebecca Pearson at Faber & Faber on 0207 465 7555 or Rebecca.Pearson@faber.co.uk.

Notes to Editors

• 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 was recently named one of Waterstone’s ’25 authors of the future’. Naomi is also part of this year’s Orange Broadband Award for New Writers judging panel.

• *Clare Allan was shortlisted for the Orange Broadband Award for New Writers in 2007.

About Orange
Orange is a key brand of the France Telecom Group, providing mobile, broadband, fixed, business and entertainment services across Europe. It is one of the world's leading telecommunications operators with more than 170 million customers on five continents.

In June, 2006, Orange became the single brand for mobile, broadband and multi-play offers. In addition, Orange Business Services became the new banner for business communications solutions. Orange Business Services is present in 166 countries with network reach in 220.

In the UK, Orange provides high quality GSM coverage to 99% of the UK population. At the end of March 2008, Orange had over 16.9 million customers in the UK – 15.8 million active mobile customers and over 1.1 million broadband customers.

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Personal Communications Services Limited.

Further information about Orange and France Telecom can be found on the Orange website at www.orange.co.uk or the France Telecom website at www.francetelecom.com

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Arts Council England works to get more art to more people in more places. We develop and promote the arts across England, acting as an independent body at arm's length from government. Between 2006 and 2008, we will invest £1.1 billion of public money from government and the National Lottery in supporting the arts. This is the bedrock of support for the arts in England.

We believe that the arts have the power to change lives and communities, and to create opportunities for people throughout the country. For 2006 to 2008, we have six priorities: taking part in the arts, children and young people, the creative economy, vibrant communities, internationalism and celebrating diversity.

Arts Council England, Phone: 0845 300 6200, Fax: 020 7973 6590, Textphone: 020 7973 6564, Email: enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk, www.artscouncil.org.uk