A chara, - Many male authors see red when the Orange Prize is mentioned because it is an award solely for women. Caroline Walsh (Loose Leaves, March 24th) questions the status of an award confined to women when women writers are so successful in the mainstream.
A competition limited to male authors would help to redress the imbalance but it might be difficult to find a sponsor, given the current orthodoxy on equality.
In the meantime, the discriminatory basis of the Orange Prize should be challenged in the interests of equity for all authors. - Is mise,
TONY QUINN, Dalkey, Co Dublin.