Shortlist announced for Women's Prize for Fiction

The shortlist of six includes two previous Orange Prize winners, Barbara Kingsolver and Zadie Smith

'After an exhilarating meeting, all the judges were in agreement that this is an exceptional year for women's fiction,' said Miranda Richardson, chair of judges. 'The shortlist for 2013 represents six tremendous writers at the top of their game. Their individual novels are flawlessly presented, they contain a heady mix of ideas and without exception take the reader on a unique and deeply satisfying journey.'

The shortlist is:

• Life After Life, Kate Atkinson (Doubleday)

• May We Be Forgiven,  A.M. Homes (Granta)

• Flight Behaviour, Barbara Kingsolver (Faber & Faber)

• Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel (Fourth Estate)

• Where D'You Go, Bernadette, Maria Semple (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

• NW, Zadie Smith (Hamish Hamilton)

This is the first year that the prize has been known as The Women's Prize for Fiction. An announcement about the identity of the headline sponsor will be made at the awards ceremony on 5 June, when the winner will be presented with her £30,000 prize.

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