Literary News

Last week, I wrote about the announcement of the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction shortlist. Recently, the chair of the prize’s jury has said that she would like to discuss the possibility of opening the panel to men.

The prize is the leading prize in Britain for fiction written by women. However, unlike similar competitions, the judging panel is made up solely of women. This has been a bone of contention among some, such as author A.S. Byatt, who considers it sexist and unneccesary. Others, like academic John Sutherland, argue that it does women more harm than good.

Kirsty Lang, the chair of this year’s judging jury, sees it from both sides. She is concerned that certain types of fiction that women don’t typically read, such as science fiction, could be overlooked for the prize. However, she also says that since the majority of fiction is bought by women, the prize is representative of what women like.

Kate Mosse, the founder of the prize, says that the issue is always up for discussion but there are no firm plans yet to include men on the jury.

The Orange Prize for Fiction is now in its 12th year and has featured an all-woman jury since inception.

Sources:
The Independent
Times Online