Books

Two Irish authors on 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist

Six debuts and one previous winner are in contention for £30,000 award

The Women’s Prize longlist and judges

Martin Doyle's face
Martin Doyle
Wed Mar 10 2021 - 18:00

Two Irish authors have been longlisted for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction, along with six British and five American authors, one Canadian, one Barbadian and one Ghanaian / American.

Naoise Dolan has been nominated for Exciting Times, one of six debuts on the list, and Kathleen MacMahon for her acclaimed third novel, Nothing But Blue Sky. The list includes Ali Smith, a previous winner who has also been shortlisted twice before, and Amanda Craig, who has previously been longlisted. Perhaps the best-known name on the list, however, is actor and author Dawn French.

The chair of this year’s judges is 2019 Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo, whose fellow judges are Elizabeth Day; Vick Hope; Nesrine Malik; and Sarah-Jane Mee.

Malik called Dolan’s debut “a taut, gripping book full of unsympathetic characters that for some reason you remain extremely invested in.” Mee said of MacMahon’s novel: “Widower David examines his relationship with his dead wife and their 20-year marriage. It’s a story of grief and living life to the full.”

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MacMahon said: "This means the world, to me and the book. It was my first novel with Penguin and the first to be published under their new Sandycove Press imprint based in Dublin, so I'm thrilled that their faith in me has been rewarded.
"The Women's Prize judges have some serious form in picking out good books, so I'm delighted they've chosen to include mine on this year's longlist. There are so many of my favourite novels on previous years' lists, including last year's winner, Maggie O'Farrell's wonderful Hamnet. Previous winners like Ann Patchett and Barbara Kingsolver are among my favourite writers. To be in their company is a huge honour."

Dolan said: “It’s an incredible honour for Exciting Times to have been chosen by such a distinguished panel, and to see my name among so many inspirational writers. Thank you to everyone who’s responded so warmly to the novel over the past year – the support has meant the world to me. I’m in London and can’t hug my mother but I want to say thank you to her, my first and foremost female role model!”

Remarkably, this year’s longlist features no fewer than three novels about twins but it also covers a range of genres and themes – family (sibling and 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 the Deep South of the US; Ghana, Hong Kong, Barbados, Brooklyn and a fantasy realm.

Girl, Woman, Other author Evaristo, chair of the judges, said: “We read so many brilliant novels for this year’s prize and had an energetic judging session where we discussed our passions, opinions and preferences. Sadly, we had to let some very deserving books go but we’re confident that we have chosen 16 standout novels that represent a truly wide and varied range of fiction by women that reflects multiple perspectives, narrative styles and preoccupations.

“I was looking for writing that felt original, something I hadn’t read before, a quality of prose that is very engaging, books that have some level of suspensefulness, that are going somewhere, where the storytelling is animated.

“There is a huge variety, although there are three novels about twins which is very unusual, we didn’t go looking for that. There are a lot of contemporary novels, how we live our lives now. There is a diversity in the list. That isn’t something we intentionally chose, it was just that when we were talking about the books we felt passionately about, there were several from Black and Asian writers.”

Of course, if you are looking for fresh stories and different perspectives, a diverse demographic is no harm.

“I absolutely agree. Obviously I am a diversity champion, you are right, those stories are fresh because so few of them have been published so they are introducing cultures and stories and perspectives that we may not have encountered before.

“We wanted a variety of perspectives. It would have been terrible if half the books were about young women struggling to find their way in the world. We need to show the vitality of women’s fiction.”

Although unable to discuss individual titles, the judge agreed that Kathleen MacMahon’s stood out for having a male protagonist. However, she said, “There are no rules about that. Novels featuring male protagonists have won the Women’s Prize before.”

The shortlist of six books will be announced on April 28th and the winner of the £30,000 prize will be revealed on July 7th.

Reflecting on the power of literary prizes, Evaristo said: “The Booker is a life-changing prize. I had won prizes before. I was aware that should I win a major prize – the Booker, Costa or Women’s Prize – it would certainly affect my career for the better, it would bring my book to a wider readership. The Booker has done that.

“I thought I knew the power of the Booker but now I’ve experienced its power to elevate one’s career into the stratosphere. Prizes can be important for individual careers but they can also be important for particular demographics. I run the Brunel International African Poetry Prize. That began at a time when no one was interested in African poetry. I think it’s great when a prize does more than just elevate an individual’s career. And when it elevates someone who really needs it.”

As well as her Booker-winning novel, her previous book, Mr Loverman, about a gay Caribbean man in his 70s, has received a lot more attention. “It’s almost like a companion book to Girl, Woman, Other, and it’s quite funny, comic.”

She can’t say what she’s working on at present, but will say that she’s has found the pandemic really conducive to writing. “I don’t feel emotionally traumatised and there are fewer distractions.”

The longlist

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Irish Times review
Bernardine Evaristo: "The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is a beautifully written novel, and psychologically very complex, and it looks into the consequences of racism and its effect on the human psyche, and how it can determine people's lifestyle choices and relationships and shape their fate."

Small Pleasures by Claire Chambers
Irish Times review
Elizabeth Day: "Small Pleasures by Claire Chambers is a story set in the 1950s about a local journalist who covers the incredible tale of a woman who claims to have been a virgin when she gave birth to her daughter."

Piranesi by Susanna Clark
Irish Times review Interview
Nesrine Malik: "Piranesi by Susanna Clark is a book that is utterly transporting. It spirits you away into a fascinating universe that stays with you long after you've put the book down."

The Golden Rule by Amanda Craig
Irish Times review
Bernardine Evaristo: "The Golden Rule by Amanda Craig [is] a thrilling, rollicking scorching state of the nation novel, which holds a mirror up to the differences and inequalities between the genders, the classes but also the rural-city divide."

Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan
Irish Times review Essay
Nesrine Malik: "Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan is a taut, gripping book full of unsympathetic characters that for some reason you remain extremely invested in."

Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi
Irish Times review
Sarah-Jane Mee: "Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi is a story of a toxic mother- daughter relationship and it's seen through the prism of the mother's dementia."

Because of You by Dawn French
Bernardine Evaristo: "Because of You by Dawn French is a warm, compassionate, funny novel, which looks at motherhood and also challenges assumptions about the maternal bond."

Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller
Sarah-Jane Mee: "Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller tells the tale of 50-year-old twins who still live with their mum, and what happens to them when she dies unexpectedly."

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Vick Hope: "Yaa Gyasi's Transcendent Kingdom had me in tears, wailing! [It's] the most emotional I felt after reading a book for a long, long time. "

How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones
Elizabeth Day: "How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones is a tale of violence, loss and love in Barbados, seen through four very vivid voices."

Luster by Raven Leilani
Irish Times review
Vick Hope: "Luster by Raven Leilani is a ride! I think this is the novel that most appeals to my generation; I'd recommend it to my peers."

No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
Irish Times review
Nesrine Malik: "No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood is a book that does its own thing. It takes risks while maintaining warmth, being very moving and profoundly insightful into human nature."

Consent by Annabel Lyon
Vick Hope: "Consent by Annabel Lyon is so, so clever and so concise yet just goes into the most profound issues in such depth."

Nothing But Blue Sky by Kathleen MacMahon
Irish Times review Interview
Sarah-Jane Mee: "[In] Nothing But Blue Sky by Kathleen MacMahon, widower David examines his relationship with his dead wife and their 20 year marriage. It's a story of grief and living life to the full."

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
Elizabeth Day: "Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters is a modern comedy of manners view through the lens of three women both trans and cis."

Summer by Ali Smith
Irish Times review
Bernardine Evaristo: "Summer by Ali Smith is such a witty, inventive, playful, probing novel, which really captures our zeitgeist in so many different ways, while also being fabulously entertaining."