Booked for success
Houston-raised novelist is finalist for prestigious Orange Prize for Fiction
Attica Locke, the daughter of Houston attorney and former mayoral candidate Gene Locke, is one of three finalists for the Orange Prize for Fiction, a prestigious British award presented annually to a novel written by a woman in English.
Locke, a first-time novelist who grew up in Houston and now lives in Los Angeles, was nominated for Black Water Rising, a murder mystery that subtly examines race relations in Houston during the 1980s. The main character in the book is loosely based on her father, although during interviews last summer to promote the book Locke said her father was much more mellow than the fictional character.
Three of the six finalists for the prize, which comes with a $46,000 check and a bronze statute called the Bessie, are from the United States. In addition to Locke, they include Barbara Kingsolver, author of The Lacuna, and Lorrie Moore, who wrote A Gate at the Stairs.
The winner will be announced June 9 in London.