Elizabeth Strout And Miranda July Are Among Finalists For The Women's Prize For Fiction

American authors Elizabeth Strout Miranda July are among finalists announced Wednesday for the Women's Prize for Fiction , alongside four debut novelists exploring the search for freedom in different countries and cultures.

Pulitzer Prize winner Strout's Maine-set mystery novel "Tell me Everything" and writer'-filmmaker July's "All Fours," in which a 'semi-famous artist" seeks a new life, are shortlisted for the 30,000 pound 39,000 prize. It's open to female English-language writers from any country.

The contenders also include Dutch writer Yael van der Wouden's postwar story "The Safekeep" and German-born poet Aria Aber's novel "Good Girl," about a teenager exploring her dual German-Afghan heritage.

Also on the list are Iran-born writer Sanam Mahloudji's intergenerational family saga "The Persians," and "Fundamentally" by Nussaibah Younis, about an academic trying to rehabilitate women caught up with the Islamic State group.

Author Kit de Waal, who is chairing the panel of judges, said that the six books were "classics of the future" that explored "the importance of human connection."