Take a glance at my bookshelves and you’ll find them groaning under the weight of female writers – from Jane Austen to Jane Green. And when I’m choosing which books to read on the beach, chances are they’ll be by the likes of Lisa Jewell, Jill Mansell and Freya North. So when this evening’s Orange Prize For Fiction is announced, and the biggest prize in women’s writing is awarded to one of the six shortlisted authors, it will be a celebration for all women writers – and readers.
For it seems that fiction written by women for women is having a bit of a moment. Eight out of Amazon’s top 10 selling books are written by women – helped, of course, by the unstoppable phenomenon that is the Fifty Shades Of Grey trilogy (don’t be shy, we know you’re reading it behind that copy of Fabulous!). And I for one couldn’t be happier!
Whether it’s chick lit or award-winning novels, we all need something to help us escape the everyday stresses of life. And as long as talented, sassy women continue to write funny, interesting, thought-provoking stories, we’ll all keep enjoying them. So let’s hear it for the girls!
The six shortlisted title for the Orange Prize For Fiction are:
Foreign Bodies, by Cynthia Ozick
State Of Wonder, by Ann Patchett
Painter Of Silence, by Georgina Harding
The Song Of Achilles, by Madeline Miller
The Forgotten Waltz, by Anne Enright
Half Blood Blues, by Esi Edugyan
Follow me on Twitter @FabFrosty to find out who wins tonight.
