Nominee Kate Atkinson won the Whitbread book prize in 1995

Twenty novelists have been nominated for the �30,000 award, which recognises women writers around the world. All the books must be written in English.

Finn's Away From You and The Great Stink Viking by Clark are among seven debut works on the longlist.

A shortlist of six will be announced in April, with the winner named on 7 June.

'Intriguing'

Kate Atkinson, who won the Whitbread book prize in 1995 with Behind The Scenes At The Museum, has been nominated for Case Histories.

Other British authors competing for the Orange Prize for Fiction include Miranda Hearn, Sue Gee and Patricia Ferguson.

Indian author Anita Desai, a former Booker Prize nominee, is nominated for The Zigzag Way, Ireland's Christine Dwyer Hickey is competing with Tatty and US writer Ingrid Hill has been included for Ursula, Under.

Andrea Levy won the prize in 2004 for her novel Small Island

"There was a high level of agreement among the judges on the titles for the longlist," said radio presenter and chair of judges Jenni Murray.

She described the nominated works as "inspiring" and said 119 books were considered for the award.

"The novels are both varied in style and subject matter and the themes covered are intriguing and original," she added.

Murray joins comedian Jo Brand, author Joanne Harris, theatre director Jude Kelly and news reader Moira Stuart on the judging panel.