The Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist has been announced – here are the titles you need to be reading
The Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist has been announced – and we're so excited. This is our Super Bowl, after all. The judges have deliberated, and the six shortlisted books are finally here, whittled impossibly down from the sixteen-title long list released in March. The shortlist is described as “ambitious, diverse, eclectic, and hard-hitting” by Chair of Judges Louise Minchin, who is joined by Bella Mackie, Rachel Joyce, Irenosen Okojie and Tulip Siddiq on the panel.
Now in its twenty-eighth year, the Prize has become a significant part of the literary calendar, the light green sticker adorning chosen titles an internationally recognised accolade. Half of the shortlist is comprised of debut novels from three writers who will no doubt be thrilled with their achievement of making the cut. They are up against two celebrated and iconic writers, former winners of The Women’s Prize, Maggie O’Farrell and Barbera Kingsolver. There may be some raised eyebrows around the inclusion of both on the shortlist, but there can be no doubt that it is utterly deserved.
Dream life: incoming.
O’Farrell has written a transportive and vivid work of historical fiction, bringing to life the Italian Renaissance. We, at @thebibliofilles, are devoted to fierce Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrera, the precocious sixteen-year-old wife of a sinister Duke, who faces misogyny and tragedy that will keep you at the edge of your seat (and may make you feel all the female rage). Kingsolver broke our hearts with Demon Copperhead, a reimagining of David Copperfield that Oprah calls “extraordinary”. Set in an impoverished, rural Appalachian town, Demon is born to an addict mother and absent father. This young boy yearns for love, and we watch helplessly as he becomes embroiled in the same cycle of dysfunction. Both books are epic in scale from writers at the height of their powers.
Laline Paul is nominated for the second time in this Prize, for her visceral and shocking book Pod, which will be unlike anything you have ever read before guaranteed. This one will divide the crowd, but honestly, it lives rent free in our minds weeks later. A uniquely creative book, the characters are dolphins (yes really), but this is not the Disney version. They are strikingly human in their emotions, violence, and social hierarchy, but Pod is also a profound reflection on the impact of climate change on the natural world.
The three debut novels are all exceptional, capturing recent turbulent moments that will educate as much as they captivate. Trespasses by Louise Kennedy focuses on The Troubles in Northern Ireland and has at its centre a tender love story, with themes of community, religion and politics waved cleverly through the powerful plot. Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks blends passages of pure joy with the reality of racism and gang warfare. This soulful story is lyrical, taking the reader from a London nightclub to a mystical town in Jamaica. The final title is Black Butterflies, which has been wracking up international praise for its insight into the siege of Sarajevo, inspired by true accounts. Priscilla Morris deftly creates a tense and claustrophobic setting for her layered and complex characters, exploring love, loss and what makes a home.
The shortlist is such a diverse mix that will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers. The winner will be announced at a glorious summer party in June, so there is plenty of time to read all six books and form your own opinion of which one should win. We do not envy the judging panel one bit. If you have already devoured the shortlist, have no fear, we have curated a list of similar books for you to dive into. Get ordering from the links.
Ahead, the Women’s Prize for fiction 2023 shortlist.
Pod
With a number of narrators, we follow young Ea, a dolphin who cannot spin or hear well. Lost and bewildered, she is caught in a brutal harem, dominated & violated by the aggressive male leaders. Google is another dolphin that is a heart-wrenching figure, trained at a naval base, with an entirely distorted perception of himself & his environment. Laline Paul explores community, belonging, hierarchy & raw animal savagery, bringing a real sense of the vastness of the watery depths. There is endless beauty & hope in her exceptional prose, and though this book is brutal and at times explicit, it will provoke the reader to question and contemplate the natural world, the impact of climate change and the interaction between human and animal. We @thebibliofilles are still thinking about this one.
Loved this? Immediately buy Glory.
Black Butterflies
Thirty years on from the longest siege in modern warfare, you can’t help but think of what people in Ukraine are experiencing when reading this important book. Black Butterflies centres around a moment in history, in Sarajevo, the spring of 1992. Society has broken down, chaos has descended, with nationalist gangs polarising the city along ethnic lines. Zora is an artist and teacher who is caught in the midst of the fear and destruction. As the crescendo of violence rises. Zora sends her daughter, mother, and husband away to safety, remaining in her home which is now under siege. A prescient story of racism and fear, this is also an intricately personal tale of sacrifice, love, friendship, and resilience. You will struggle to believe this is fiction, the characters and sense of place are so authentic.
Loved this? Read Free.
Fire Rush
A firm @thebibliofilles favourite, Fire Rush is a soulful, mystical, propulsive novel that captures the chaos of London gangs and the beauty of the Jamaican diaspora, with a lyrical style of electric prose. Yamaye and her friends live on the Tombstone Estate in the outskirts of London. Life is tough at home and going out to the Crypt on the weekends is Yamaye’s release, she loses herself in the music. It’s a place where she can truly be free. When she meets Moose, who shares her Jamaican heritage, she falls deeply in love and everything changes — but brutally. She finds herself on a journey of discovery, leaving for Jamaica where her past and present connects in ways she could never have predicted. A celebration of Black womanhood that speaks to the soul.
Adored this? You have to read Girl, Woman, Other.
The Marriage Portrait
Lord, do we at @thebibliofilles love O’Farrell, who broke us open with Hamnet, her 2020 Women’s Prize-winning novel. The Marriage Portrait is an equally spellbinding reimagining which transports you to the world of the Italian Renaissance. Set in 1561, our protagonist is Lucrezia de’ Medici, the third daughter of Florence’s ruler, Cosimo I de’ Medici, who faces challenge and drama in a treacherous and troubled court. A year into her marriage, Lucrezia is in danger from none other than her husband. The reason? She has failed in her singular duty to produce the heir needed to ensure the security of his kingdom. O’Farrell steps back, taking the reader into the path that has brought Lucrezia to this moment of peril. Captivating and beautiful, this is the kind of historical fiction that you’ll find yourself utterly immersed in.
Loved this? Read A Net for Small Fishes by Lucy Jago.
Trespasses
Be ready for an unforgettable, heart-wrenching, and beautiful read that will keep you hooked until the last page. Twenty-four-year-old Cushla is living a normal life when everything changes after a chance encounter. A teacher at a Catholic primary school just outside of Belfast, she also works in the family pub from time to time and it’s here that she meets Michael, a charismatic Protestant barrister who fights for the rights of young Catholic men. He also happens to be married. When he asks her to help him and his friends learn to speak Irish, their relationship blooms into something more — and something dangerous. Set against the backdrop of the Troubles, this is a fractured world and tensions are always high, as are the stakes.
Want to learn more? Immediately order Say Nothing.
Demon Copperhead
Demon, Demon, Demon. Kingsolver you took over our lives with this mammoth story, we couldn’t stop reading and wanted to reach into the pages to hug our boy. Only she could take Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield and drag him into an incredibly contemporary story of destitution and violence. Set in the Appalachian Mountains, it’s the story of Damon Fields — Copperhead because he is, indeed, a redhead — the son of a teenage single mother, who is in and out of rehab. Damon has a gift for survival, and we see him ride the huge waves set before him over the course of his life, a life that began with the odds so heavily stacked against him. Foster care, addiction, love, and loss; will he make it through? There are passages that will break you and make you grateful for everything you have. Who could win against this?
Loved this? Make sure to read Shuggie Bain.
