It's the award formerly known as the Orange Prize, which honors a work of English fiction written by a woman. And this year, such heavyweights as Hilary Mantel, Zadie Smith, and Barbara Kingsolver are among those longlisted for the $45,000 Women's Prize. Last year, American Madeline Miller won for her debut novel, The Song of Achilles. Mantel's historical novel Bring Up the Bodies could do a clean sweep of the major literary awards, having already won the Man Booker Prize, the Costa Book Award, and the David Cohen prize for lifetime achievement. The shortlist will be announced on April 16 and the winner will be revealed on June 5.
Here is the complete longlist:
Kitty Aldridge: A Trick I Learned From Dead MenKate Atkinson: Life After LifeRos Barber: The Marlowe PapersShani Boianjiu: The People of Forever are Not AfraidGillian Flynn: Gone GirlSheila Heti: How Should A Person Be?A.M. Homes: May We Be ForgivenBarbara Kingsolver: Flight BehaviorDeborah Copaken Kogan: The Red BookHilary Mantel: Bring Up the BodiesBonnie Nadzam: LambEmily Perkins: The ForrestsMichèle Roberts: IgnoranceFrancesca Segal: The InnocentsMaria Semple: Where'd You Go, BernadetteElif Shafak: HonorZadie Smith: NWM.L. Stedman: The Light Between OceansCarrie Tiffany: Mateship with BirdsG. Willow Wilson: Alif the Unseen