Book prize season is in full swing. The Women’s Prize is probably my favourite prize, since I’ve discovered so many great reads via its longlists. Will I have any luck this year? Let’s take a look.
1. Women’s Prize for Fiction 2024
The longlist was announced the 5th of March. It consists of 16 novels written in English selected based on excellence, originality and accessibility.
The Longlist
- Hangman by Maya Binyam
- In Defence of the Act by Effie Black
- And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott
- The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright
- The Maiden by Kate Foster
- Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan
- Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville
- Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
- Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy
- 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster by Mirinae Lee
- The Blue, Beautiful World by Karen Lord
- Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
- Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie
- Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan
- River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure
- A Trace of Sun by Pam Williams
First Impression
My initial reaction to the longlist was relatively muted, since I’ve read none of these books and only heard of five. However, unknown (to me) books aren’t necessarily a bad thing. Last year, I actually preferred two of the lesser known publications, The Bandit Queens and Wandering Souls to the established favourite, Demon Copperhead.
The fact that many reader favourites were not to be found on the list may have many reasons.
- These books were not submitted by the publishers
- There is a huge amount of talent out there, which isn’t recognised
- The judges prioritise unknown books and/or specific themes
- The taste of the judges doesn’t reflect the taste of readers following the prize
Since I have no idea which of those reasons dominate, I won’t dash out any criticism. But my general opinion is, that book prizes should reflect good books, whatever that means. Supporting unknown authors or prioritising topical themes should only play a minor role.
More than half of the list are debuts and the list has a distinct global feel to it, with settings including Saharan Africa, Sri Lanka, Palestine, Korea, Ghana and China.
One book was also included on the Booker longlist for 2023. Western Lane has a 3.55 star rating on Goodreads, which is very low for that platform. This certainly indicates, that book prize judges look for other qualities than the general public.
What to read?
As usual, I will pick a few books from the longlist. My choices will be influenced by all the reviews, which are bound to pop up in the near future and maybe by the shortlist as well. However, a few books stood out to me, just based on the blurb.
Set during the early years of Sri Lanka’s three-decade civil war, Brotherless Night is a heartrending portrait of one woman’s moral journey and a testament to both the enduring impact of war and the bonds of home.
Having loved Sri Lanka, when visiting, I am curious to learn more about the history of the country.
A stunning rendering of present-day Palestine, Enter Ghost is a story of diaspora, displacement, and the connection to be found in family and shared resistance.
Enter Ghost was one of the books, I’d heard about before the longlist announcement. The current geopolitical situation may have boosted interest in this novel, but reviews have also been glowing.
2. Women’s Prize for Nonfiction 2024
For the first time, The Women’s Prize has a separate prize for nonfiction, which I think is an excellent idea.
The Longlist
- The Britannias: An Island Quest by Alice Albinia
- Vulture Capitalism: Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts and the Death of Freedom by Grace Blakely
- Eve: How The Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon
- Intervals published by Marianne Brooker
- Shadows at Noon: The South Asian Twentieth Century by Joya Chatterji
- Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life and Sudden Death by Laura Cumming,
- Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in the Philippines by Patricia Evangelista
- Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life by Anna Funder
- Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood by Lucy Jones
- Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein
- A Flat Place by Noreen Masud
- All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles
- Code-Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI by Madhumita Murgia
- The Dictionary People: The Unsung Heroes who Created the Oxford English Dictionary by Sarah Ogilvie
- Young Queens: The Intertwined Lives of Catherine de’ Medici, Elisabeth de Valois and Mary, Queen of Scots by Leah Redmond Chang
- How to Say Babylon: A Jamaican Memoir by Safiya Sinclair
First Impression
This looks like an amazing list! With a few exceptions, these are all topics, I would love to read about. I can’t wait to get started!
What will I read?
I have bookmarked the list, which I will sample for my nonfiction reading project. A lot of the books sound interesting, but I will probably start with the following:
With my interest in AI, it probably comes as no surprise, that Code Dependent is on my list. I’ve read a decent amount of material on AI and it has all been written by men. I’m curious to see what Code Dependent brings to the table. Whereas most books look at the technical and practical aspects of AI, Code Dependent investigates how it affects, what it means to be human.
When visiting The Philippines as a tourist, you see friendly people, beautiful beaches and impressive rice terraces. However, there is a darker side to the country. Some People Need Killing is a deep dive into Philippines’ drug war, written by journalist Patricia Evangelista.
How to say Babylon is a memoir about the author’s struggle to break free of her rigid Rastafarian upbringing. Already, a certain amount of hype has arisen around this book. I’ve listened to an extract of the audiobook and it sounds amazing.
Finally, A Flat place is part memoir, part nature writing. Personally, I love mountains, but I am intrigued by the authors fascination with flat landscapes.
That’s it! I can’t wait to pick up some of these books. Have you read anything from the longlists? Do you plan to?
The shortlists will be announced 27th March (nonfiction) and 24th April (fiction). The winners will be announced 13th of June.
I don’t tend to read prize books, but your nonfiction choices sound really interesting!
I was really impressed by the list for nonfiction. There are some interesting books, which I look forward to read! 🙂
Thanks for this, Stargazer💜 How refreshing.
My pleasure – I always enjoy to look at these lists. 🙂
Hi. I used to be pretty familiar with the fiction and nonfiction worlds. That’s no longer the case, though I read a decent number of books each year. Anyway, I never heard of any of the authors or books you mention in your essay. I’ve made note of several of them. Thanks.
I haven’t heard of most of these books either. Why it does seem a bit strange, it is also an opportunity to discover some new books and authors.
Well done for looking at the longlists! I find them a bit overwhelming so I’m going to wait for the shortlist and take my pick from there.
It is easier to wait for the shortlists, but last year none of my favourites made it to the shortlist. I guess there is no guarantee, that your personal taste matches that of the judges. I look forward to see you you decide to read!
While I do keep tabs on what’s on longlists and like to read reviews of the books, I rarely read anything from them as they’re never my kind of reads! I’m more likely to go for non-fiction over fiction though.
To be honest, I was a lot more excited about the nonfiction list than the fiction list this year.
Thanks for your post! I didn’t recognize much on the fiction longlist except Western Lane and Enter Ghost and Anne Enright. I’ve read Kate Grenville before. People are crazy: Western Lane is better than a 3.55 rating. I listened to the audio and thought it 4.2 stars. I need to read Enter Ghost sometime. Ever since The Gathering, I’ve not wanted to read Enright again but perhaps I should give her another shot. Hmm. I’m not too into nonfiction, but I’d read the Babylon memoir. We all have much reading to do! And so far, I’m slow these days. Good luck with these.
I guess Western Lane is a marmite book, which people tend to love or really dislike. It does sound kinda interesting, but I am not convinced, I need to read it. My first picks will definitely be from the nonfiction list, which to me sounds more interesting than the fiction list. Of course you never know!
I also want to read Code Dependent!
It does sound good, doesn’t it. I’ll wait for the audiobook to come out.
I loved Western Lane! And I’ve recently finished Brotherless Night; both were 5 star reads for me so the fiction list is off to a strong start in my book! I definitely think there’s a strong following among the prize community of prolific readers who turn to prizes to be introduced to great books they haven’t already heard of, and I think there’s some expectation also with a literary prize that it’s not just a general public popularity contest; whether that explains the amount of lesser-known authors and books with lower ratings this year or just makes me happy, I can’t say lol! Definitely lots of room for speculation on what happens in the judging process and how books are chosen, and I think that’s part of the fun of following along. I hope you’ll have a good time with any of the books you pick up! 🙂
I’d love to see your reactions to your top nonfiction choices as well; most of them I also added to my TBR, although I am focusing on the fiction list for now. Hoping to get to How to Say Babylon next month, and will check out the shortlist for further prioritizing.
That is indeed a promising start to the longlist. Hopefully, those books will be characteristic for the overall quality. It seems several of the bloggers I follow, love Western Lane. I wonder, why it has so low ratings on Goodreads, I guess it might be one of these marmite books.
Definitely agree, book prizes shouldn’t be a popularity contest. One of the big attractions about following a book prize is the chance of finding a hidden gem. But it would be interesting to see, which books are actually submitted, just to get a better of idea of the selection process.
I have decided to start with the nonfiction list and am currently reading How to Say Babylon, which is really good so far. Next up is Code Dependent, which I am really excited about. Maybe AI isn’t a typical Women’s theme, such as motherhood and relationships, but AI is affecting all of us and I’m glad to see a female author contributing to the discussion.
I think Western Lane is perhaps quiet and literary enough to hold less appeal for more commercial readers, possibly? If I had to take a guess at why it’s so divisive that might be it.
Oh I fully agree, it would be fascinating and enlightening to see some specifics from inside of the selecting and judging process!
I can’t wait to dive into How to say Babylon soon, I’m so happy to see you’ve been enjoying it and that it’s now made the shortlist! I hope Code Dependent will be a success for you as well, and I agree about being pleased to see an AI theme being highlighted. I feel similarly about that as I did about The Blue, Beautiful World (a First Contact novel featuring aliens) on the fiction longlist- maybe neither center women specifically, but women are humans first and foremost, so any topic affecting humanity at large feels like a worthy fit, and it’s great that it’s not only men being recognized in those topics!
You might be right about Western Lane. I am still not convinced to give it a try, but who knows what might happen…
By now I am 75% into Code Dependent and find it interesting. It highlights a lot aspects of AI, where we have to be careful. However, I could perhaps wish for a bit more nuance. The dangers arise, because of how we humans use (or misuse) the technology, not because of AI in itself. Also, AI can make a positive difference as well. Maybe, there is too much focus on the negative. Anyway, it is still a really enlightening book.