Hilary Mantel nominated for women’s prize

Hilary Mantel is homing in on a clean sweep of Britain’s three top literary prizes with a nomination for the Women’s Prize for fiction. The novelist has already won the Booker and Costa prizes for her Tudor novel Bring Up The Bodies. The 60-year-old writer is one of 20 candidates announced today for the Women’s Prize, previously known as the Orange Prize. Nominees include previous winners Barbara Kingsolver and Zadie Smith, as well as Gillian Flynn, for her best-seller Gone Girl. The award, in its 18th year, celebrates writing by women in English from around the world. The winner will receive $45,000. Mantel’s critically acclaimed historical novel is a sequel to Wolf Hall, which also won the Booker. The winner will be announced in London on June 5.