Complex stories of migration are among finalists for the Women’s Prize for Fiction

By The Associated Press on April 24, 2024.

LONDON (AP) – Two novels that tell complex and surprising stories of migration are among six finalists for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction.

U.S.-French writer Aube Rey Lescure’s debut novel “River East, River West” depicts west to east immigration through the story of Americans in China, while British author Isabella Hammad’s “Enter Ghost” charts a Shakespearean actress’s complicated return to her Palestinian homeland.

The shortlist announced Wednesday for the 30,000 pound ($37,000) award includes two Irish writers: Claire Kilroy, for her story of motherhood, “Soldier, Sailor,” and Anne Enright for multigenerational saga “The Wren, The Wren.”

Australia’s Kate Grenville, a previous Women’s Prize winner, makes the list with her eighth novel, historical adventure “Restless Dolly Maunder.” U.S. writer V. V. Ganeshananthan is nominated for her second novel, “Brotherless Night,” set during Sri Lanka’s civil war.

Founded in 1996, the prize is open to female English-language writers from any country. Past winners include Zadie Smith, Tayari Jones and Barbara Kingsolver, who won last year for “Demon Copperhead.”

This year, awards organizers launched a companion Women’s Prize for Nonfiction to help rectify an imbalance in publishing. In 2022, only 26.5% of nonfiction books reviewed in Britain’s newspapers were by women, and male writers dominated established nonfiction writing prizes.

The winners of both fiction and nonfiction prizes will be crowned at a ceremony in London on June 13.