LONDON (AP) — Family sagas from China and Kentucky and a sci-fi story of female empowerment are among six finalists for the international Women's Prize for Fiction.

Madeleine Thien's Chinese-Canadian journey "Do Not Say We Have Nothing," C.E. Morgan's multigenerational Kentucky epic "The Sport of Kings" and Naomi Alderman's gender role-reversal thriller "The Power" were all on the shortlist announced Monday.

Other contenders for the 30,000-pound ($37,000) prize are Nigerian writer Ayobami Adebayo's tale of love and loss in 1980s Nigeria, "Stay With Me"; British author Linda Grant's "The Dark Circle," set in a tuberculosis sanatorium after World War II; and British novelist Gwendoline Riley's portrait of a toxic marriage, "First Love."

Television executive Tessa Ross, who chairs the judging panel, said the shortlist "celebrates narratives that are daring and intimate, that examine the depth of human experience in unique and compelling ways."

Founded in 1996, the prestigious prize is open to female English-language writers from around the world,

Several of the biggest names on the 16-book longlist failed to make the cut, including Margaret Atwood, Annie Proulx and Mary Gaitskill.

Bookmaker William Hill made Alderman the favorite to win, followed by Adebayo.

The annual award is officially named the Baileys Women's Prize after its cream-liqueur sponsor. The winner will be announced on June 7.