Announcing the 2023 winner of the Women’s Prize

We are beyond thrilled to announce that Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead has won the 2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction, making Barbara the first double winner for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in its 28 year history.

At an awards ceremony in Bedford Square Gardens, central London, the 2023 Chair of Judges Louise Minchin presented the author with the £30,000 prize, endowed by an anonymous donor, and the ‘Bessie’, a limited-edition bronze figurine by Grizel Niven.

Chair of judges and author and journalist Louise Minchin says:
“Barbara Kingsolver has written a towering, deeply powerful and significant book. In a year of outstanding fiction by women, we made a unanimous decision on Demon Copperhead as our winner. Brilliant and visceral, it is storytelling by an author at the top of her game. We were all deeply moved by Demon, his gentle optimism, resilience and determination despite everything being set against him.

An exposé of modern America, its opioid crisis and the detrimental treatment of deprived and maligned communities, Demon Copperhead tackles universal themes – from addiction and poverty, to family, love, and the power of friendship and art – it packs a triumphant emotional punch, and is a novel that will withstand the test of time.”

Watch the moment Barbara was announced as the 2023 Women’s Prize winner!

2023 Women’s Prize winner: Barbara Kingsolver!

Demon Copperhead is a heartfelt, gritty, poignant novel set in the Appalachian mountains in Virginia, USA. A reimagining of Dickens’ David Copperfield for modern times, it tells the story of the relentless struggles and triumphs of a young boy born into poverty as he navigates foster care, labour exploitation, addiction, love and loss, while grappling with his invisibility in a culture that neglects rural communities.