On the 5th of March, just in time for international women’s month, the Women’s Prize for Fiction announced it eagerly anticipated longlist. The list consists of 16 books from all corners of the world, they all are written in English. The list is made up of well known as well as new authors, seven of these are debut novels. It also contains last years Booker prize winner, a previous winner and a non-binary transgender author for the first time in the prizes 24 year history (with permission from the author).
The judges who picked these books included Professor Kate Williams, Arifa Akbar, Dolly Alderton, Leyla Hussein and Sarah Wood.
The prize was set up 23 years ago to celebrate women across the globe and every nationality, country of residence, age or subject matter is eligible. In February 2019, the prize earned charitable status. The nominees are:
- The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
- Remembered by Yvonne Battle-Felton
- My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
- The Pisces by Melissa Broder
- Milkman by Anna Burns
- Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
- Ordinary People by Diana Evans
- Swan Song by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott
- An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
- Number One Chinese Restaurant by Lilian Li
- Bottled Goods by Sophie van Llewyn
- Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
- Praise Songs for the Butterflies by Bernice L. McFadden
- Circe by Madeline Miller
- Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
- Normal People by Sally Rooney
The shortlist will be announced on the 29th of April with the winner following on the 5th of June.
