The Waterstones 11, the major initiative created to uncover the very best in debut fiction from around the world, is, this year, dominated by female talent, leaving space for just three male writers on the list.

Announced yesterday evening (Thursday 19th) at a reception at Waterstones' flagship store in Piccadilly, the list of 11 authors is seen as an indicator of potential prize contenders and those expected to go on to achieve critical and commercial success in the year ahead. The 2012 team includes: Eowyn Ivey, an Alaskan bookseller who found inspiration when she happened across a copy of a Russian fairytale whilst stocking the bookshelves; former award-winning actress Rachel Joyce, whose credits include leading roles at the RSC and the Royal National Theatre; and Karen Thompson Walker, whose novel The Age of Miracles, partly written on the New York subway, sparked bidding wars on both sides of the Atlantic. Interestingly, of the eight novels written by women, half focus on child narrators.

Now in its second year, this year's Waterstones 11 will build on the success of 2011's list, which championed authors including: Téa Obreht, author of The Tiger's Wife, which went on to win the Orange Prize for Fiction; Stephen Kelman, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for his novel Pigeon English; and Sarah Winman, who's When God Was a Rabbit was given the nod by Richard and Judy, was chosen as a holiday read by Kate Middleton, became one of the bestselling books of the year, and won Sarah the New Writer of the Year Award at the Galaxy National Book Awards.

The list in full (in alphabetical order):

1. The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan (William Heinemann, 3^rd May)

2. Absolution by Patrick Flanery (Atlantic, 1^st March )

3. Shelter by Frances Greenslade (Virago, 2^nd February)

4. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (Fourth Estate, 19^th January)

5. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (Headline Review, 16^th February)

6. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (Doubleday, 15^th March)

7. The Land of Decoration by Grace McCleen (Chatto & Windus, 1^st March)

8. Signs of Life by Anna Raverat (Picador, 6^th April)

9. The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan (Virago, 29^th March)

10. The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker (Simon & Schuster, 21^st June)

11. Care of Wooden Floors by Will Wiles (Harper Press, 6^th February)

Despite being debuts, some of the novels have already garnered praise from the literary establishment: Chad Harbach's The Art of Fielding has received widespread attention, including an endorsement by Jonathan Franzen, who claims the book has "left a little hole" in his life; Charlotte Rogan's novel The Lifeboat has been hailed by Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel as "a splendid book"; whilst Emma Donoghue (The Room) described Grace McCleen's The Land of Decoration as "extraordinary... part social observation and part crazy mysticism, held together by a brutally real story of parent-child love."

Waterstones' Managing Director, James Daunt, said:

"There is a singular excitement to the discovery of a new writer of rare talent. For us booksellers, the process of introducing and guiding readers to the very best new work is one of the most important roles we perform. This year's 11 are once again a marvellous selection. It is hard to believe these are debut novels, so assured and alive the writing."

Chair of the Waterstones 11 selection committee, Janine Cook, said:

"Is this a golden age of female writing? The presence of eight female writers out of 11 on our list might indicate so. Whatever their gender, this year's Waterstones 11 have a lot to live up to given the success, both critically and commercially, of last year's list, but I have no worries on that count - these are all truly wonderful novels."