Tea Obreht: I haven't earned the Orange Prize for Fiction
10th June 2011
Tea Obreht has spoken out after becoming the youngest ever writer to win the Orange Prize for Fiction, claiming she does not feel she has earned the honour.
The 25-year-old, who was named winner of the GBP 30,000 prize earlier this week for her debut novel, The Tiger's Wife, said accepting the award was difficult considering the relatively short space of time she has been a published author.
She told the Guardian: 'I have this feeling that something's going to get me, that this isn't right. It's not real. I don't feel I've earned it karmically. I haven't been good enough!'
However, the judging panel disagreed and awarded Obreht the prize ahead of a strong shortlist of candidates including Nicole Krauss, who was previously shortlisted for the award in 2006, and Emma Donoghue, who was the bookmakers' favourite to win before the ceremony took place.
Obreht becomes the 16th recipient of the Orange Prize for Fiction, which was established in 1996 to recognise the best novel written by a female author in the English language.