On 7 March 2023, the 2023 Women's Prize longlist was revealed! The annual literary award celebrating women writers has previously recognised the talents of so many gifted writers, including these past winners:
The 2023 longlist is as follows:
Glory is a postcolonial fable, set in a fictional African country Jidada where an elderly tyrannical horse is disposed. A chorus of animals narrate this tale as Bulawayo tells the story of the military overthrow of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's President (1987-2017). The judges called this novel: 'An ingenious and brilliant political fable that bears witness to the surreal turns of history'. Bulawayo was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2022 for Glory.
In Oklahoma, Sisters Zoe and Amy are homeschooled. Amy is sharp, excelling at languages. Zoe suffers from illness and so Amy cares for her sibling. This coming of age story is described as an illustrated memoir. American author Croft won the 2020 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing for this book, and the 2018 Man Booker International Prize for her translation of Olga Tokarczuk's Flights.
Bernardine Evaristo said she 'felt charged and changed' by Crooks' debut novel. Born and raised in London, Yamaye loves clubbing at the weekend, dancing to dub reggae at The Crypt. She meets Moose, a carpenter who likewise has Jamaican heritage. Fleeing violence, Yamaye travels to Jamaica to learn more of her past. Crooks is a Jamaican-born British writer, best known for her short stories. This is her debut novel.
Holly starts work at the dilapidated Paradise cinema where she cleans toilets and sweeps up popcorn. She is pretty lonely, ignored by her colleagues, but over time she is accepted by the group and becomes an insider. With the ushers she learns the history of the Paradise. When the owner dies and the Paradise is taken over by a cinema chain, this history may be lost. Grudova is a Canadian author, best known for her previous work The Doll's Alphabet.
Haynes is known for her retelling of classics, such as The Children of Jocasta and A Thousand Ships. Her latest, Stone Blind, brings new life to the myth of Medusa. The only mortal in a family of gods, Medusa experiences aging and weakness not understood by her family. Assaulted by Poseidon and then punished for his transgressions, she is transformed into a monster that will turn living beings to stone. I picked up this book a few months ago and I am really looking forward it.
Set in Northern Island during the Troubles, this novel is about a young woman living in Belfast. Cushla teaches at a parochial school and at night works in her family's pub. She meets Michael, a barrister who defends IRA members. Despite him being Protestant, older and married, Cushla commences an affair with him. As the Troubles escalate, she finds herself conflicted and her choices impact her family and community. Trespasses is Kennedy's debut novel.
Arguably the most commercial book on the longlist, Kingsolver's novel is a retelling of David Copperfield set in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. A boy born to a teenage single mother grows up in poverty, surviving foster care, poor schools, addiction, and worse. Kingsolver is best known for her novel The Poisonwood Bible and won the Women's Prize in 2010 for The Lacuna. I have this novel and reckon it has a good chance of advancing and possibly even winning. Better get reading!
Mackintosh is best known for her novel The Water Cure, longlisted for the 2018 Booker Prize. In Cursed Bread, Mackintosh bases her tale on a real unsolved mystery of a 1951 mass poisoning in a French village. Eloudie, the wife of a baker, becomes intrigued by a new couple that move to the small town. Meanwhile, strange things are happening in the town - horses found dead, ghosts appearing, people experiencing hallucinations. Slowly, the town becomes gripped by madness.
Elizabeth McKenzie - The Dog of the North
Newly divorced, Penny Rush has a lot to manage. Her parents are missing in the Australian outback. Her grandfather is moving into a retirement home and her grandmother keeps experiments in her fridge. Penny needs a fresh start, so she jumps in an old van and embarks on a road trip. McKenzie is the author of The Portable Veblen.
In Sarajevo, 1992, nationalists erect barricades to divide the city by ethnicity. Residents push the barricades inside during the day. Teacher Zora sends her husband and elderly mother to England when violence erupts. Zora stays behind, believing the conflict will be resolved quickly. But when it escalates instead, the residents of her building come together to fins a way to cope. This is Morris' debut novel.
This wonderful novel is a fictional imaging of the brief life of the Duchess of Ferrara. When she was thirteen years old, Lucrezia de' Medici was married to Alfonso d'Este, the future Duke of Ferrara. Her time in Ferrara was short-lived as she died at the age of 16 from a mysterious illness, amid rumours she had been poisoned by her husband for failing to produce an heir. O'Farrell takes small threads of what is known of this woman and weaves a portrait of her life. I read this novel last year and absolutely loved it (read my review here). O'Farrell won the Women's Prize in 2020 for Hamnet.
'I stalk a woman on the internet who is sleeping with the same man as I am.' Thus begins this first person account, told in short vignettes, of a 30-something, 'second generation immigrant' woman in South London. She shares her experience of an unequal, unfaithful relationship, with a unique character voice. This is Patel's debut novel. I have read a few sample chapters online and I am definitely intrigued. Will need to track down a copy.
Another debut novel, this book is about three Vietnamese siblings who flee war by boat to Hong Kong. Their parents and other family members are lost on the journey. The siblings eventually seek refuge in the UK and try to establish a life for themselves despite the sense that they are not welcome in Thatcher's Britain.
Ea is a dolphin. Unlike the other members of the pod, Ea is deaf and cannot perform the spins required to fit in. Ea leaves the pod and ventures off into the ocean, finding predators at every turn. Paull was shortlisted for the Women's Prize in 2015 for her novel The Bees. This novel does not excite me at all. While I enjoy experimental fiction, I read a brief sample and was not engaged and found it hard to get in to.
Geeta is enjoying her life as a widow. While she didn't kill her husband, everyone thinks she did. Consequently, she develops a bit of a reputation, and other women in the village seek her advice on how to get rid of their husbands. This is American author Parini Shroff's debut novel. I quite like the sound of this novel, and think it will be a hoot. Sounds a bit reminiscent of Oyinkan Braithwaite's My Sister, The Serial Killer. Will have to track it down.
Miriam flees her husband, and returns to her childhood home in Memphis with her two children Joan and Mya. Covering 70 years and three generations of women, the story is told in differing narrative voices, in a non-linear fashion. Stringfellow is a poet and former attorney. This is her debut novel.
Last year's longlist gave me many hours of reading pleasure, so I am hopeful that this year's list will do the same.
While I have only read one novel on this list (Maggie O'Farrell's The Marriage Portrait), I have copies of Demon Copperhead and Stone Blind so will start my exploration there. I am keen to track down the works by Bulawayo, Shroff, Kennedy, Macintosh and Patel.
I was surprised that Kate Atkinson (Shrines of Gaiety), Kamila Shamsie (Best of Friends), and Elizabeth Strout (Lucy by the Sea) did not make the cut. But it was nice to see nine debut authors gain exposure for their work by these nominations.
If I had to pick a shortlist, I would choose on Bulawayo, Kingsolver, O'Farrell, Mackintosh and Haynes to be among those listed.
The shortlist will be announced on 26 April 2023 and the winner will be revealed on 14 June 2023. Happy reading!