Ann Weisgarber's debut novel, which follows the story of a pregnant black woman struggling to keep her family alive in the 1917 South Dakota badlands, was selected alongside Francesca Kay for her portrait of the troubled life and marriage of a painter, An Equal Stillness, and Nami Mun's story of a young Korean girl who runs away from home, Miles from Nowhere.

Mishal Husain, chair of the judging panel and BBC world news presenter, said it had been an "excruciating process" to pick just three novels from an 80-book line-up, but that the final shortlist showed "outstanding talent". "We believe their extraordinary novels will appeal to a wide range of readers and also inspire the writers of tomorrow," she said.

Weisgarber, who is competing with writers including Toni Morrison, Marilynne Robinson and Kamila Shamsie for the overall Orange prize, said it was "an honour to be in the company of such fine novels and novelists". "The great joy is the confirmation that even 'quiet' stories are heard," she added.

She spent seven years writing the book, inspired by a camping trip she took to Dakota and, while her literary agent worked hard to find her a publisher in the US, no one was interested because "the story was 'too quiet'". "That told me the novel wasn't ready," Weisgarber said. "My agent and I parted on good terms. I went back to page one and started the next round of revision."