Stories from the perspective of a dolphin, a North American reworking of Dickens, and three stunning debuts are among the finalists for 2023’s Women’s Prize for Fiction.
ADVERTISEMENTStories from the perspective of a dolphin, a North American reworking of Dickens, and three stunning debuts are among the finalists for 2023’s Women’s Prize for Fiction.
The prestigious literary prize highlights the best of the year’s fiction from female authors written in English. First started in 1996 in reaction to the 1991 Booker Prize’s all-male shortlist, the Women’s Prize has celebrated fiction written by women, with a £30,000 top-prize and increased sales from the exposure.
This year’s six finalists include two previous winners. American author Barbara Kingsolver won the 2010 prize for ‘The Lacuna’. She’s back with a clever reworking of Charles Dickens’ classic ‘David Copperfield’ set in a modern-day Virginia. ‘Demon Copperhead’ takes the brilliance of Dickens’ original and transposes it to the contemporary opioid crisis in Appalachia.
Alongside Kingsolver is Maggie O’Farrell who won in 2020 for her fictional account of Shakespeare’s son in ‘Hamnet’. Her new novel ‘The Marriage Portrait’ is an astounding story of a strong-willed teenage girl fighting for freedom in Renaissance Italy.
British novelist Laline Paull was shortlisted in 2015 with ‘The Bees’ and she’s back in the shortlist with her latest work ‘Pod’, a deep-sea drama from the perspective of a dolphin.
A highlight of the shortlist is that half of the books are debut outings. ‘Trespasses,’ a love story by Irish writer Louise Kennedy is set during Northern Ireland’s years of violence; ‘Fire Rush,’ a dub reggae-drenched coming-of-age tale by Britain’s Jacqueline Crooks; and Sarajevo-set war saga ‘Black Butterflies’ is by Britain’s Priscilla Morris.
This year’s shortlist has been selected by an independent judging panel chaired by broadcaster and writer Louise Minchin. She is joined on the judging panel by novelist Rachel Joyce; journalist, podcaster and writer Bella Mackie; novelist and short story writer Irenosen Okojie; and Tulip Siddiq, Member of Parliament.
“This is an exquisite set of ambitious, diverse, thoughtful, hard-hitting and emotionally engaging novels. A glittering showcase of the power of women’s writing. My fellow judges and I feel it has been a huge privilege to read these novels, and we are delighted to be part of their journey, bringing them to the attention of more readers from across the world,” said Minchin.
“You’ve got 16th-century Florence, you’ve got the Indian Ocean told from the point of view of the creatures that live in it,” she said.
Previous winners include Zadie Smith, Tayari Jones and Susanna Clarke. Last year’s prize went to Canadian-American novelist Ruth Ozeki for ‘The Book of Form and Emptiness.’
The winner of the 2023 Women’s Prize will be unveiled June 14 at a ceremony in London.
