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2021 Women’s Prize longlist

2021 Women’s Prize longlist

The 2021 Women’s Prize longlist honours both new and well-established writers and a range of genres and themes – family (twins and siblings, mother-daughter relationships); motherhood; rural poverty and isolation; addiction; identity and belonging; race and class; grief and happiness; coming-of-age and later life. The novels span a range of different global settings, from South London to Deep South; Ghana, Hong Kong, Barbados, Brooklyn and a fantasy realm.

Founded in 1996, it’s one of the UK’s most prestigious literary awards, showcasing the remarkable originality, accessibility and excellence of novels written by women from around the world. So the longlist offers an exciting opportunity to discover a range of ambitious and outstanding literature.

The 16 books on the longlist – novels written by women and published in the UK between 01 April 2020 and 31 March 2021 – were selected by a panel of five judges: Bernardine Evaristo (chair of the judges), novelist; Elizabeth Day, podcaster, author and journalist; Vick Hope, TV and radio presenter, journalist and writer; Nesrine Malik, print columnist and writer; and Sarah-Jane Mee, news presenter and broadcaster.

Included on the list are six dazzling debut novels, as well as a previously longlisted author and a former winner and two-time shortlist, Ali Smith.