WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION ANNOUNCES 2018 LONGLIST

Thursday 8 March 2018: The Women’s Prize for Fiction – one of the biggest international celebrations of women’s creativity in the world – today announces the 2018 longlist. Now in its 23rd* year, the Prize celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in writing by women in English from throughout the world.

The announcement coincides with International Women’s Day 2018. The longlist of 16 novels follow in alphabetical order by author.

H(A)PPY by Nicola Barker
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon
Miss Burma by Charmaine Craig
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
Sight by Jessie Greengrass
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife by Meena Kandasamy
Elmet by Fiona Mozley
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy
See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt
A Boy in Winter by Rachel Seiffert
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
The Trick to Time by Kit de Waal
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

The judges for the 2018 Women’s Prize for Fiction are:

Sarah Sands, (Chair), Editor of BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme

Anita Anand, Radio and Television Journalist

Katy Brand, Writer, Comedian and Actor

Catherine Mayer, Journalist, Author and Co-founder of the Women’s Equality Party

Imogen Stubbs, Actress

“The longlist came out of a Chequers style meeting where different views were accommodated and peace reigned, at least for now,” commented Sarah Sands, Chair of Judges. “What is striking about the list, apart from the wealth of talent, is that women writers refuse to be pigeon-holed. We have searing social realism, adventure, comedy, poetic truths, ingenious plots and unforgettable characters. Women of the world are a literary force to be reckoned with.”

This year’s longlist honours both new and well-established writers and a range of genres: the list features two previously longlisted authors and one previously shortlisted author. There are six first novels on the list.

Set up in 1996 to celebrate and promote international fiction by women throughout the world to the widest range of readers possible, the Women’s Prize for Fiction is awarded for the best full-length novel of the year written by a woman and published in the UK between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018. Any woman writing in English – whatever her nationality, country of residence, age or subject matter – is eligible.

The 2018 Prize is supported by three partners. Announced last week, they are:

• Baileys; the world’s bestselling cream liqueur, which held the title sponsorship of the Prize from 2013 – 2017
• Deloitte; a leading professional services firm, providing audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services
• NatWest; one of the UK’s leading personal, private and business banks

The 2018 Women’s Prize for Fiction will be awarded on June 6^th 2018 at an awards ceremony in central London. The winner will receive an anonymously endowed cheque for £30,000 and a limited edition bronze figurine known as a ‘Bessie’, created and donated by the artist Grizel Niven.