An American, a South African and a Briton are contending for the Orange Broadband Award for New Writers, it was announced yesterday. Lauren Groff makes the shortlist for The Monsters of Templeton , in which the remains of a prehistoric monster are unearthed in a New York town. Joanna Kavenna's Inglorious follows a London journalist's fall from grace, while Lauren Liebenberg's The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam , set in 1970s Rhodesia, has also been longlisted for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction.

All first works of fiction written by female authors in English are eligible for the £10,000 prize, which is funded by Arts Council England. The winner will be announced together with the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction on June 4.