Some Thoughts on the Women's Prize for Fiction

First of all, yes, I do think there is a need for a female-only fiction prize. I think the fact that a coalition of companies and individuals have come together to provide funding in the absence of corporate sponsorship is evidence of the impact that the Women’s Prize for Fiction can have. Despite the impending full-spectrum dominance of Hilary Mantel, women are still generally under-represented in literature – as feminist lit site For Books’ Sake points out, there have only been 16 female victories in 45 years of the Booker, and audits such as the VIDA Count show that less than a third of books reviewed in the mainstream media are written by women.

What I wonder, though, is whether there is a need for this female-only fiction prize. As in previous years, the longlist, announced today, has focused on safe, commercial options, at the expense of more challenging fare – maybe unsurprisingly, given the presence of Rachel Johnson and Jojo Moyes on the judging panel. If you walk into a branch of Waterstones, you will find novels written by women grouped together under glossy rom-com covers, with non-conformists consigned to the margins. Once again, the Women’s Prize has reinforced this trend, with some shocking omissions.

Mantel is included, obviously, as is NW, despite the continuing evidence that Zadie Smith struggles to draw characters with any real depth. More worryingly, Gillian Flynn’s efficient yet poorly-written thriller Gone Girl is included. Sure, the sales figures are good, but isn’t that what the Costa prize is for? One of the most surprising omissions was Alison Moore’s atmospheric debut The Lighthouse, which was recognised in the Booker shortlist but, according to the Women’s Prize judges, is less good than a collection of Sheila Heti’s emails. Jenni Fagan’s The Panopticon was well-received in the mainstream press and by bloggers, achieving a degree of commercial success as well – she is a good shout for the Granta Best of Young british Writers, but doesn’t feature here. Likewise, Nicola Barker’s The Yips was unfortunate to miss out.

For me, the most striking omission was Helen DeWitt’s Lightning Rods, an iconoclastic, inventive and hilarious satire which shocked GoodReads members whilst subverting everything from HR policies to the FBI. This is not the sort of book which female authors are expected to write, and often not the sort that publishers will take risks on – so surely this is exactly the sort of book that the Women’s Prize should champion. Otherwise it will simply perpetuate the stereotypes surrounding female authors.