Press Release
Irene Sabatini wins Orange Award for New Writers10/06/2010
Irene Sabatini was awarded the Orange Award for New Writers for her book The Boy Next Door, last night at the Festival Hall. It was a unanimous decision reached between the three judges (Di Speirs, Rachel Cooke and Bernadine Evaristo), and one fully endorsed by Kate Mosse who apparently said "that book is going to be huge".
Launched in 2005 in partnership with Arts Council England, the Orange Award for New Writers celebrates emerging female literary talent and potential.
All first works of fiction, including novels, short story collections and novellas, written by women of any age or nationality and published as a book in the UK are eligible to enter. The emphasis of the award is on emerging talent and the evidence of future potential. Books can be entered for both the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Orange Award for New Writers in any given year. Judges look for writers who demonstrate excellence, originality and accessibility.
The winner receives a £10,000 bursary.
Synopsis of The Boy Next Door:
As Zimbabwe breaks free of British colonial rule, young Lindiwe Bishop encounters violence at close hand when her white neighbour is murdered. But this is a domestic crime, apparently committed by the woman's stepson, Ian, although he is released from prison surprisingly quickly. Intrigued, Lindiwe strikes up a covert friendship with the mysterious boy next door, until he abruptly departs for South Africa.
Years later, Ian returns to find Lindiwe has been hiding her own secret. It is to bring them closer together, but also test a relationship already contending with racial prejudice and the hostility of Lindiwe's mother. And as their country slides towards chaos, the couple's grip on happiness becomes ever more precarious.
Vividly evoking the traumatic history of a nation once brimming with promise, The Boy Next Door tells an engrossing, unpredictable story of love against the odds, and of the shadows cast by the past. It heralds the arrival of a fresh and captivating new African voice.