The 2010 Orange Prize for fiction longlist has been announced. Although a British prize The Orange Prize is awarded to books by women of any nationality written in English. Past winners have included Home by Marilynne Robinson, The Road Home by Rose Tremain and Half Of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Adichie. One of the judges on this year’s panel found the reading to be hard going. See here for her article Spare Us Your Misery, Orange Prize Judge Tells Authors in The Guardian.

Amongst the nominees are (for the full list see):

The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton
The Twisted Heart by Rebecca Gowers
This Is How by M.J. Hyland
Small Wars by Sadie Jones
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
Secret Son by Laila Lalami
The Long Song by Andrea Levy
Black Water Rising by Attica Locke
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
A Gate At the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters