The Women’s Prize for Fiction has unveiled the shortlist for its 2026 prize, with six books in contention for the U.K.-based prize for women authors.
Virginia Evans made the shortlist for The Correspondent, the word-of-mouth bestseller that won the PEN/Hemingway Award and the James Patterson & Bookshop.org Prize. It was also longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the Andrew Carnegie Medal.
Susan Choi was named a finalist for her novel Flashlight, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and longlisted for the National Book Award. Lily King made the shortlist for Heart the Lover, a PEN/Faulkner Award finalist.
Addie E. Citchens was shortlisted for Dominion, another PEN/Faulkner Award finalist, alongside Marcia Hutchinson for The Mercy Step and Rozie Kelly for Kingfisher.
Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the jury chair for the prize, said in a statement, “We are delighted to present a shortlist that doesn’t shy away from examining life’s challenges, but also brings many moments of joy. As judges, we are first and foremost readers, and these novels intrigued and profoundly moved us. The plot lines kept us turning pages to find out what happens next, the characters found a place in our hearts and the stories stayed with us long after the last sentence.”
The Women’s Prize for Fiction was established in 1996. Previous winners include Ann Patchett for Bel Canto, Tayari Jones for An American Marriage, and Yael van der Wouden for The Safekeep.
The winner of this year’s award, which comes with a cash prize of 30,000 British pounds—about $40,500—will be announced at an event in London on June 11.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
