Last night London's literati gathered at the Serpentine Sackler gallery to hear the shortlist of the Baileys women's prize for fiction. The names called by head judge Shami Chakrabarti, were Laline Paull's The Bees, Anne Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread, Outline by Rachel Cusk, How to Be Both from Ali Smith and The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters and Kamila Shamsie's A God In Every Stone.
The judging panel including Everyday Sexism founder Laura Bates, columnist Grace Dent, Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman, Bailey's prize winner author Helen Dunmore and civil liberties campaigner Shami Chakrabarti had pored over hundreds of eligible books.
While five of the authors had been nominated before, newcomer Laline Paull, who went from screenwriter and playwright to novellist was a stand-out of the evening, with judges describing her book, about a lowly hive worker called Flora 717 as the 'Animal Farm of our time.'
The winner of the prestigious award, and £30,000 prize fund will be announced on 3rd June.