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The Women's Prize for Fiction
31 winning novels and 155 more on the shortlists, 1996 to 2026. The other lists in The Novel Index show which of them have lasted.
Latest winner (2026): The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
The Women’s Prize for Fiction is for novels by women, written in English and published in the UK. It used to be called the Orange Prize, and later the Baileys Prize. Its winners tend to be readable as well as well regarded, which makes the list a good one for choosing a book to enjoy.
Half of a Yellow Sun, set in Nigeria during the Biafran war, and Small Island, about people arriving in post-war Britain from Jamaica, are the two the lists like best. How to Be Both is playful and short, and its two halves can be read in either order. Demon Copperhead and Hamnet are the recent ones to start with, and both are easy to get into.
Winners and shortlists from Women's Prize Trust. The prize's own record · Every book from this prize in the index
The winners the lists rate highest
Half of a Yellow Sun is the Women's Prize for Fiction winner the other lists rate highest, on 5 other lists.
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When the shortlist outlasted the winner
The widest gap came in 2010, when Wolf Hall lost to The Lacuna: it is now on 10 of our lists, the winner on 1.
Years when a shortlisted novel is now on more of our lists than the book that won.
| Year | Shortlisted | Lists | Winner | Lists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel | 10 | The Lacuna | 1 |
| 2000 | White Teeth Zadie Smith | 10 | When I Lived in Modern Times | 1 |
| 2013 | Life After Life Kate Atkinson | 7 | May We Be Forgiven | 1 |
| 2016 | A Little Life Hanya Yanagihara | 6 | The Glorious Heresies | 1 |
| 2013 | Bring Up the Bodies Hilary Mantel | 6 | May We Be Forgiven | 1 |
| 1999 | The Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver | 5 | A Crime in the Neighborhood | 1 |
| 2011 | Room Emma Donoghue | 4 | The Tiger's Wife | 2 |
| 2014 | Americanah Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | 3 | A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing | 1 |
| 2014 | The Goldfinch Donna Tartt | 3 | A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing | 1 |
| 2014 | The Lowland Jhumpa Lahiri | 3 | A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing | 1 |
| 2016 | The Green Road Anne Enright | 3 | The Glorious Heresies | 1 |
| 2003 | Unless Carol Shields | 3 | Property | 1 |
Every Women's Prize for Fiction winner, year by year
The Correspondent won in 2026. The first winner, in 1996, was A Spell of Winter.
| Year | Winner | Author | Tier | Lists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | The Correspondent | Virginia Evans | Acclaimed | 1 |
| 2025 | The Safekeep | Yael van der Wouden | Acclaimed | 3 |
| 2024 | Brotherless Night | V. V. Ganeshananthan | Acclaimed | 1 |
| 2023 | Demon Copperhead | Barbara Kingsolver | Rising Star | 4 |
| 2022 | The Book of Form and Emptiness | Ruth Ozeki | Acclaimed | 1 |
| 2021 | Piranesi | Susanna Clarke | Rising Star | 3 |
| 2020 | Hamnet | Maggie O'Farrell | Rising Star | 4 |
| 2019 | An American Marriage | Tayari Jones | Acclaimed | 2 |
| 2018 | Home Fire | Kamila Shamsie | Rising Star | 3 |
| 2017 | The Power | Naomi Alderman | Acclaimed | 1 |
| 2016 | The Glorious Heresies | Lisa McInerney | Acclaimed | 1 |
| 2015 | How to Be Both | Ali Smith | Essential | 5 |
| 2014 | A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing | Eimear McBride | Acclaimed | 1 |
| 2013 | May We Be Forgiven | A. M. Homes | Acclaimed | 1 |
| 2012 | The Song of Achilles | Madeline Miller | Acclaimed | 1 |
| 2011 | The Tiger's Wife | Téa Obreht | Acclaimed | 2 |
| 2010 | The Lacuna | Barbara Kingsolver | Acclaimed | 1 |
| 2009 | Home | Marilynne Robinson | Acclaimed | 2 |
| 2008 | The Road Home | Rose Tremain | Acclaimed | 2 |
| 2007 | Half of a Yellow Sun | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | All-Time Canon | 6 |
| 2006 | On Beauty | Zadie Smith | Acclaimed | 3 |
| 2005 | We Need to Talk About Kevin | Lionel Shriver | Acclaimed | 1 |
| 2004 | Small Island | Andrea Levy | Essential | 6 |
| 2003 | Property | Valerie Martin | Acclaimed | 1 |
| 2002 | Bel Canto | Ann Patchett | Acclaimed | 2 |
| 2001 | The Idea of Perfection | Kate Grenville | Acclaimed | 1 |
| 2000 | When I Lived in Modern Times | Linda Grant | Acclaimed | 1 |
| 1999 | A Crime in the Neighborhood | Suzanne Berne | Acclaimed | 1 |
| 1998 | Larry's Party | Carol Shields | Acclaimed | 1 |
| 1997 | Fugitive Pieces | Anne Michaels | Acclaimed | 2 |
| 1996 | A Spell of Winter | Helen Dunmore | Acclaimed | 1 |
Lists used on this page
- The 100 best novels of all time, The Guardian (2026). Original list
- The 100 best books of the 21st century, The Guardian (2019). Original list
- The 100 greatest British novels, BBC Culture (2015). Original list
- 100 novels that shaped our world, BBC Arts (2019). Original list
- All-Time 100 Novels, Time (2005). Original list
- The 100 best books of the 21st century, The New York Times (2024). Original list
- Booker Prize (winners and shortlists), Booker Prize Foundation (1969-). Original list
- Women's Prize for Fiction (winners and shortlists), Women's Prize Trust (1996-). Original list
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (winners and finalists), Columbia University (1918-). Original list
- Costa (Whitbread) Novel Award (winners and shortlists), Costa (1971-2021). Original list
- Walter Scott Prize (winners and shortlists), Abbotsford Trust (2010-). Original list
- British Book Awards: Fiction Book of the Year (winners and shortlists), The Bookseller (1990-). Original list
- National Book Award for Fiction (winners and finalists), National Book Foundation (1950-). Original list
- Readers' top 100 novels, The Guardian (2026). Original list
- The Big Jubilee Read, BBC Arts and The Reading Agency (2022). Original list
- The Great American Read, PBS (2018). Original list
- Goodreads Choice Awards: Fiction and Historical Fiction winners, Goodreads (2009-). Original list
- Richard & Judy Book Club picks, Richard & Judy / WHSmith (2004-). Original list
- Waterstones Book of the Year (winners and shortlists), Waterstones (2012-). Original list
- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime, Amazon.co.uk (2014). Original list
- Oprah's Book Club picks, Oprah's Book Club (1996-). Original list