The Women’s Prize Trust – the registered charity building a better future by championing women’s writing – has revealed the longlist for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction. The Prize is sponsored by Audible and Baileys. The winner is awarded £30,000 – anonymously endowed – and a statuette known as the ‘Bessie’, created and donated by the late artist Grizel Niven.
Announced just ahead of International Women’s Day on Sunday 8 March, the longlist reflects the vital work of the Women’s Prize Trust and the charity’s belief that every woman’s voice has the power to elicit and inspire positive change. The sixteen titles – including nine from independent publishers and seven debuts – showcase the profound force, resonance and scale of fiction writing: from tackling turbulent global issues, like climate change and displacement, to examining the intensely intimate.
Julia Gillard, chair of Judges and former Prime Minister of Australia, said, “Across a longlist that is international in both scope and setting, these sixteen books masterfully demonstrate the power of fiction to examine the messy business of being human. From climate change to artificial intelligence, they navigate the issues of our time with urgency and purpose, they immerse us in environments and experiences that are sometimes like our own, but more often are radically different, and they explore identities and perspectives that are often ignored or forgotten, amidst those inherently universal and recognizable.
Spotlighting both emerging novelists and small, independent publishers, my fellow judges and I are proud to share a list that so wonderfully reflects the thriving creativity of contemporary women authors, as well as the crucial work of the Women’s Prize Trust in bringing unheard voices to the fore. It is truly a treasure trove for readers, and we offer our heartfelt congratulations to all the nominated writers.”
Claire Shanahan, executive director of the Women’s Prize Trust, said, “Across three decades, the Women’s Prize for Fiction has transformed the literary landscape – elevating women’s writing, empowering new voices, and bringing together a global community of readers. At the Women’s Prize Trust, the charity behind the Prize, our mission remains unchanged: to help build a future where every woman’s story has a place, and where these rich and vital narratives are put into the hands of more readers. We are immensely proud of this year’s longlist, and I offer our congratulations to these sixteen exceptional novelists, and gratitude to the judges.”
The longlist for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction
Gloria Don’t Speak by Lucy Apps (Weatherglass Books)
Paradiso 17 by Hannah Lillith Assadi (4th Estate, HarperCollins Publishers UK)
Moderation by Elaine Castillo (Atlantic Books)
Flashlight by Susan Choi (Jonathan Cape, Vintage, Penguin Random House UK)
Dominion by Addie E Citchens (Europa Editions UK)
The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine (Sceptre, Hodder & Stoughton, Hachette UK)
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House UK)
The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson (Cassava Republic Press)
The Others by Sheena Kalayil (Fly on the Wall Press)
Kingfisher by Rozie Kelly (Saraband)
Heart the Lover by Lily King (Canongate)
Audition by Katie Kitamura (Fern Press, Vintage, Penguin Random House UK)
A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar (Scribner, Simon & Schuster UK)
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (Canongate)
The Best of Everything by Kit de Waal (Tinder Press, Headline Publishing Group, Hachette UK)
A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang (Dead Ink)
