Prize for Fiction winner

Author's debut novel wins this year's prestigious prize...

09:05 09 June 2011

Ta Obreht has won the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction for her debut novel, The Tiger's Wife.

The 25-year-old is the youngest author to scoop the award and was praised by the judges as a "truly exciting new talent".

Chair of the judges, Bettany Hughes, said of Serbian-born Ta:

"Obreht's powers of observation and her understanding of the world are remarkable.

"By skilfully spinning a series of magical tales, she has managed to bring the tragedy of chronic Balkan conflict thumping into our front rooms with a bittersweet vivacity.

"Obreht celebrates storytelling and she helps us to remember that it is the stories that we tell about ourselves, and about others, that can make us who we are and the world what it is."

Set in the Balkans, the novel tells the story of a young doctor who traces the life of her Grandfather.

The other nominees for the prize included Kathleen Winter for Annabel and Emma O'Donoghue's The Room.

The 30,000 annual prize recognises the work of fiction written in the English language by women.

US author Barbara Kingsolver won the prize last year for her sixth novel, The Lacuna.