Q&A with Helen Fraser

This morning Helen Fraser, 2014 Chair of Judges, will be championing ‘her’ year’s winning book A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing on BBC Woman’s Hour. Listen in to BBC Radio 4 or online from 10am onwards to find out why Eimear McBride’s debut left the 2014 judging panel spellbound.

Do you think fiction written by women has changed over the past decade? If so, how?

I don’t think that fiction written by women has changed in any obvious way over the past decade. Rereading the ten Women’s Prize winners just confirmed what strong individual voices each of authors possessed. Some of the novels were set in the past, some in the present, but there was an enormous range of settings, characters (male as well as female protagonists) and themes.

What progress would you like to see for women in the next twenty years?​

I would like to see much greater equality at the top of organisations – more than the 20% of women who currently occupy the top echelons of business, politics, academia, law, the police

Is there a book written by a woman that has changed your life?​

It is hard to think of a single book, but I think the work of Anne Tyler has given readers such insight into the drama and passion of quiet daily lives – I love all her books and learn from each one.

Tune into BBC Woman’s Hour from 10am to hear Helen Fraser discussing A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing.