By Grace Briggs-Jones, Florrie Hulbert, Daisy Shayegan and Harry Banham
The Women’s Prize Trust is a registered charity dedicated to enhancing access to and appreciation of women’s writing for readers everywhere. By providing a platform that celebrates outstanding female authors and role models, the Trust fosters a global, supportive community of readers and writers. With a remarkable reach of sixteen million readers, the Trust has supported 7,926 early-career writers, elevated 401 female novelists to household names and donated 3,000 books annually to women in need. Through these efforts, the Women’s Prize Trust enriches society by creating equitable opportunities for women in literature and beyond.
The Women’s Prize for Fiction 2024 marks the 29th celebration of female creativity in literature. This year’s judging panel, chaired by author Monica Ali, includes novelist Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, author and illustrator Laura Dockrill, actor Indira Varma and presenter and author Anna Whitehouse. Established in 1996 to address the lack of recognition for women writers compared to their male counterparts, the Prize honours full-length novels written in English and published in the UK. The winner receives £30,000, anonymously endowed, along with the “Bessie”, a bronze statuette created by Grizel Niven. Last year’s winner was Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Now, let’s dive into this year’s exceptional shortlist and find out the winner of the 2024 Prize!
River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure
Partly autobiographical fiction, partly historical fiction, this coming-of-age novel illustrates its characters growing up as their country, China, embarks upon a similar journey. The dual timelines of Shanghai, 2007, and Qingdao, 1985, tell the respective stories of Alva, a mixed-race teenager, and Lu Fang, her stepfather. Aube Rey Lescure explores big concepts: race, class, culture, feeling in-between – all in a narrative that sticks closely to the characters. This impressive debut is well-deserving of being shortlisted for the Women's Prize.
The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright
This is the story of Nell, a young Irish woman who leaves home to escape her family history and the shadow of her father, a famous Irish poet capable of brutal acts. A triumphant chronicle of family life, this novel delves into love of all kinds – familial, spiritual and romantic. Ultimately, Enright has written a testament to the resilience of women and the special bonds between mothers and daughters.
Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville
Set at the end of the 19th century, the novel follows the titular Dolly, a poor rural farmer, as she fights to build her own life. Undeterred by traditional limits and obstacles, she must push open the doors of a society just beginning to accept determined women in search of love, independence and fulfilment. This brilliantly subversive novel fuses history, biography and memoir to tell a stunning tale of female perseverance.
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
Dedicated to her parents, this is a remarkable novel following actress Sonia Nasir’s return to her family’s homeland, Haifa, to visit her sister. In turn, Sonia discovers that her relationship with Palestine is emotionally tenuous and fragile. The story follows her as she joins a production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet with a group of inspired male actors. As she faces many obstacles along the way, she strives to bring the play to life in Arabic. As she becomes re-acquainted with her old home, she contemplates her life in London, and her passion for her ancestral home reignited as she begins to imagine herself with a new identity there. Hammad writes passionately and sensitively about the strength of family, history, and identity, making for a poignant read.
Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy
A captivating novel battling with motherhood and identity and written in a beautiful prose style. Kilroy’s poetic flourishes and colourful language choices depict her brutal honesty and rawness that catches the reader’s attention. We read of her heroine struggling with her fierce maternal instincts and how these feelings disconnect her from her own identity as a woman, independent of her status as a mother. Soldier Sailor looks at the strain on her marriage as a result of her motherhood and consequently forces the heroine to ponder the questions of her independence and her creative spirit. As an older friend returns, the heroine questions whether he can provide her with the traits of her past self and offer her a glimpse back into her past and her old identity.
Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan
This beautifully written novel describes the struggle to survive during the Sri Lankan Civil War, particularly as a Tamil. Sashi helplessly watches her four brothers and their friend K get sucked into various political ideologies and horrors of war. Hoping to act as a medical student, Sashi starts working in a field hospital for the militant Tamil Tigers but can't help but feel torn when their cause enacts senseless violence to a place and person she loves. She begins, alongside her professor, writing down all the atrocities and human rights violations occurring. Only through this truth does Sashi feel she can protest the interference of war in her life. A worthy winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction!
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