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William Fiennes has been selected as the chair of judges for the second annual Folio Prize, sponsored by the Folio Society.
The Snow Geese (Picador) author was drawn from the Folio Prize academy – a pool of writers from from which each year's judging panel is picked at random.
Other judges on the panel, also drawn from the academy, are journalist and writer Rachel Cooke, The Reluctant Fundamentalist author Mohsin Hamid, Orange Prize-winning novelist A M Homes, and Man Booker Prize-shortlisted Deborah Levy.
The £40,000 prize will be awarded in March 2015 to a work of English-language fiction released in the UK during 2014. The inaugural prize went to George Saunders' short story collection Tenth of December (Bloomsbury).
Fiennes said: "The Folio Prize made such a striking debut last year… Even as the ways in which books are published and distributed undergo dramatic change, writers keep at their old work, showing us the inner and outer lives of the world. The Folio Prize recognises excellence in this magical ongoing enterprise, and I can't wait to get started."
Members of the Academy, excluding the judges, will be invited to nominate three books each for the prize, which are rated with a points system, with the 60 highest scoring going through for consideration. In November, publishers will be able to write letters of support for five books they feel merit consideration, and 20 will be called in.