The Women’s Prize for Fiction – the greatest international celebration of women’s creativity – today announces the 2022 longlist. Now in it’s 27th year, the Prize shines a spotlight on outstanding, ambitious original fiction written in English by women from anywhere in the world.
The longlist
- Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith
- Careless by Kirsty Capes
- Creatures of Passage by Morowa Yejidé
- Flamingo by Rachel Elliott
- Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
- Remote Sympathy by Catherine Chidgey
- Salt Lick by Lulu Allison
- Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
- The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
- The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini
- The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson
- The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton
- The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
- The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
- The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
- This One Sky Day by Leone Ross
The 2022 longlist features both debut and acclaimed writers, with Louise Erdrich the most prolific with 23 published novels. The books cover a range of genres and themes including belonging and identity; community and connection; the power of nature; the burden of history and intergenerational trauma; protest and personal freedom; female friendship and solidarity; music; different types of family units; and the shades of darkness and light of the human spirit. The novels also offer globe-spanning locations, from Trinidad, Cyprus and a dystopian England, to Cape Cod, Buchenwald and Vietnam.
The judges
Chair of judges and author Mary Ann Sieghart, says:
‘Choosing just 16 novels from 175 submissions was a marathon task. After a lively and passionate discussion, my fellow judges were delighted to find that our 16 favourite novels were incredibly diverse, written by women of all ages from all over the world, covering different genres, and from publishers large and small. We are confident that this wonderful, eclectic and inspiring longlist will offer something to entrance every reader, both male and female.’
Mary Ann is joined on the judging panel by Lorraine Candy, award-winning journalist and editor; Dorothy Koomson, global bestselling novelist, journalist and podcaster; Anita Sethi, award-winning author and literary journalist; and Pandora Sykes, journalist, broadcaster and author.
The judges will narrow down this longlist of 16 books to a shortlist of six, which will be announced on Wednesday 27 April 2022. The 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction will be awarded on Wednesday 15 June 2022 at an awards ceremony in central London. The winner will receive an anonymously endowed cheque for £30,000 and a limited edition bronze figurine known as a ‘Bessie’, created and donated by the artist Grizel Niven. More information can be found on the Women’s Prize for Fiction website here.
Get involved
Your reading group can apply to shadow the shortlist of the Prize from the 8th March. Selected groups will receive copies of one shortlisted title and will be asked to discuss and review it. Find out more and apply now.
If you work in a library or workplace and would like to promote the longlist, you can download a free digital pack from our shop.
What do you think of the 2022 longlisted titles? Which have you read and what will be added to your TBR pile? Add your comments below, or click any title above to leave a review.
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Keep up with all the latest news on the Women’s Prize website.
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