Youth Panel to select ‘Best of the Best’ to celebrate 15th anniversary of the Orange Prize for Fiction
As part of the Orange Prize for Fiction’s 15th anniversary celebrations, six teenagers will form a youth panel to select their favourite winner from the previous 14.
The four girls and two boys, aged between 17–18, will read all the past Orange Prize winners from Helen Dunmore’s A Spell of Winter published in 1996, to last year’s Home by Marilynne Robinson. The 14 books will be whittled down to a shortlist of four before a final judging meeting to decide on the youth panel’s ‘Best of the Best’.
The panel were selected from entries sent into Spinebreakers.co.uk, the online community for book loving teenagers, where they will continue to share their judging experiences and debate the books they have read.
“Last year we introduced the concept of the youth panel who shadowed the main jury and it was fascinating to see how their shortlist and winner were completely different. From this we were able to gain insight and create debate around the reading habits of a younger audience, something no other UK literary prize has done before.” commented Kate Mosse, novelist and Honorary Director of the Orange Prize.
“On the 10th anniversary of the Orange Prize in 2005, Andrea Levy’s Small Island, was selected as the ‘Best of the Best’ by all the previous jury chairs. We look forward to seeing what this year’s youth panel will make of the impressive back catalogue of Orange Prize winners.”
Youth panel member, Hazel Compton, commented “I’m excited to take part in this year’s Orange Prize 15th celebrations. It’s an incredible list of books and it’s going to be a tough deciding on the winner but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
The youth panel consists of:
* Hazel Compton (18), is from Norfolk and currently Studying Art History and English Literature at the University of East Anglia. She enjoys rock climbing, painting and has written for the student newspaper as well as the online magazine Rusemag.com.
* Kate Edwards (17), is from Glamorgan and studying English Literature, History, Art and Religious Studies and her favourite authors include Jon McGregor, Irvine Welsh, Patrick Gale and Joanne Harris.
* Fergus Ewbank (18), is from York and studying English at Goldsmiths University in London and enjoys music, photography and the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Virginia Woolf and Hunter. S. Thompson.
* Pooja Gohil (17), is from Bradford and studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English Literature and hopes someday to combine both her scientific aspirations with her pleasure in reading and writing.
* Conrad Landin (17), is from London and studying English, Latin, History and Politics at A-level and his favourite authors include George Orwell, Sam Selvon and R.D. Wingfield. He is an avid theatre goer and writes part time for the Camden New Journal.
* Kirsty Woodford (17), is from Cardiff and studying English, Maths, Physics, Religious Studies and Welsh, she has won a number of creative writing competitions and also runs and edits her school's newspaper.
The Orange Prize for Fiction was set up in 1996 to celebrate and promote international fiction by women throughout the world to the widest range of readers possible and 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.
Previous winners are Marilynne Robinson for Home (2009), Rose Tremain for The Road Home (2008), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for Half of a Yellow Sun (2007), Zadie Smith for On Beauty (2006), Lionel Shriver for We Need to Talk About Kevin (2005), Andrea Levy for Small Island (2004), Valerie Martin for Property (2003), Ann Patchett for Bel Canto (2002), Kate Grenville for The Idea of Perfection (2001), Linda Grant for When I Lived in Modern Times (2000), Suzanne Berne for A Crime in the Neighbourhood (1999), Carol Shields for Larry’s Party (1998), Anne Michaels for Fugitive Pieces (1997), and Helen Dunmore for A Spell of Winter (1996).
www.orangeprize.co.uk
The four girls and two boys, aged between 17–18, will read all the past Orange Prize winners from Helen Dunmore’s A Spell of Winter published in 1996, to last year’s Home by Marilynne Robinson. The 14 books will be whittled down to a shortlist of four before a final judging meeting to decide on the youth panel’s ‘Best of the Best’.
The panel were selected from entries sent into Spinebreakers.co.uk, the online community for book loving teenagers, where they will continue to share their judging experiences and debate the books they have read.
“Last year we introduced the concept of the youth panel who shadowed the main jury and it was fascinating to see how their shortlist and winner were completely different. From this we were able to gain insight and create debate around the reading habits of a younger audience, something no other UK literary prize has done before.” commented Kate Mosse, novelist and Honorary Director of the Orange Prize.
“On the 10th anniversary of the Orange Prize in 2005, Andrea Levy’s Small Island, was selected as the ‘Best of the Best’ by all the previous jury chairs. We look forward to seeing what this year’s youth panel will make of the impressive back catalogue of Orange Prize winners.”
Youth panel member, Hazel Compton, commented “I’m excited to take part in this year’s Orange Prize 15th celebrations. It’s an incredible list of books and it’s going to be a tough deciding on the winner but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
The youth panel consists of:
* Hazel Compton (18), is from Norfolk and currently Studying Art History and English Literature at the University of East Anglia. She enjoys rock climbing, painting and has written for the student newspaper as well as the online magazine Rusemag.com.
* Kate Edwards (17), is from Glamorgan and studying English Literature, History, Art and Religious Studies and her favourite authors include Jon McGregor, Irvine Welsh, Patrick Gale and Joanne Harris.
* Fergus Ewbank (18), is from York and studying English at Goldsmiths University in London and enjoys music, photography and the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Virginia Woolf and Hunter. S. Thompson.
* Pooja Gohil (17), is from Bradford and studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English Literature and hopes someday to combine both her scientific aspirations with her pleasure in reading and writing.
* Conrad Landin (17), is from London and studying English, Latin, History and Politics at A-level and his favourite authors include George Orwell, Sam Selvon and R.D. Wingfield. He is an avid theatre goer and writes part time for the Camden New Journal.
* Kirsty Woodford (17), is from Cardiff and studying English, Maths, Physics, Religious Studies and Welsh, she has won a number of creative writing competitions and also runs and edits her school's newspaper.
The Orange Prize for Fiction was set up in 1996 to celebrate and promote international fiction by women throughout the world to the widest range of readers possible and 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.
Previous winners are Marilynne Robinson for Home (2009), Rose Tremain for The Road Home (2008), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for Half of a Yellow Sun (2007), Zadie Smith for On Beauty (2006), Lionel Shriver for We Need to Talk About Kevin (2005), Andrea Levy for Small Island (2004), Valerie Martin for Property (2003), Ann Patchett for Bel Canto (2002), Kate Grenville for The Idea of Perfection (2001), Linda Grant for When I Lived in Modern Times (2000), Suzanne Berne for A Crime in the Neighbourhood (1999), Carol Shields for Larry’s Party (1998), Anne Michaels for Fugitive Pieces (1997), and Helen Dunmore for A Spell of Winter (1996).
www.orangeprize.co.uk
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