Anne Enright and Claire Kilroy, both Irish authors, account for a third of the nominees for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction. Enright is in the running for her seventh novel, The Wren, The Wren, having previously won the Booker Prize for The Gathering. Kilroy is being acknowledged for Soldier Sailor, her third book and her first in a decade. Enright is no stranger to the longlist, having featured on it in 2008 and 2020 and making the shortlist twice, in 2012 and 2016.
The 2024 shortlist is also highlighted by Restless Dolly Maunder, penned by Australian Kate Grenville (a former winner in 2001 with The Idea of Perfection); River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure, a first-time Franco-American writer; Brotherless Night by American writer VV Ganeshananthan and Enter Ghost by British writer Isabella Hammad. Both are on their second novels, with Ganeshananthan having been longlisted previously in 2009.
Chair of judges, Monica Ali, expressed her enthusiasm for this year’s shortlist, saying that the six novels chosen were captivating and spanned a wide scope of human experience. Ali further remarked that the intriguing storytelling, striking characters and luminous writing of each book would ensnare readers and echo in their hearts and minds long after they have turned the last page.
Ali is accompanied on the judging panel by authors Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ, Laura Dockrill, and Anna Whitehouse, as well as actress Indira Varma.
Kilroy’s narrative, Soldier Sailor, takes a deep dive into the experience of a new motherhood, stirring up questions about women’s independence, creativity, and maternity. Similarly, The Wren, The Wren penned by Enright casts light on the implications of a troubling childhood and its long-lasting effects on the subsequent generations. The theme of problematic familial relationships is further explored in Ganeshananthan’s novel, Brotherless Night, set amidst the drastic violence of the Sri Lankan civil war.
Hammad’s Enter Ghost ventures into the reality of contemporary Palestine, narrating a story of self-realisation set against a landscape of suppression and erasure. Adding to the diversity of themes, Lescure’s River East, River West flips the conventional immigrant storyline. Set in the backdrop of China’s financial upswing in the later part of the 21st century, it inspects how Western media influences, distorts and often causes harm to the expectations of Chinese youths. The narrative of Restless Dolly Maunder by Grenville is driven by ambitious aims, starting from the 1880s in rural Australia, it portrays a woman’s endeavour to lead a freer extension of life than what she was offered.
Publishing houses such as Faber & Faber, Canongate and Duckworth are responsible for half of the novel titles, whereas the remaining are distributed by Penguin Random House’s imprints, Jonathan Cape and Viking.
The recipient of the hefty £30,000 prize will be unveiled on the 13th of June at the Women’s Prize Trust’s summer event in the heart of London. This occasion will also honour the first winner of the 2024 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction.
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver was the triumphant piece of work from the previous year.