The wait is over! The Women's Prize Trust announced the longlist for this Year's Women's Prize for Fiction this morning, 4th March.
What is the Women's Prize for Fiction.
Created by the Women's Prize Trust, a UK charity working to create equitable opportunities for women in the world of books, the Women's Prize for Fiction is a book awards that shines a spotlight on outstanding original fiction written in English, by women from anywhere in the world. The Founding Advisory Committee's original aims were to celebrate the ‘breadth and diversity’ of women’s voices and honour work of originality, excellence and accessibility.
The Women's Prize for Fiction is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year and we caught up with Executive Director of The Women's Prize Trust, Claire Shanahan to discuss this milestone anniversary in November. Click here to read our Q&A with Claire.
Last year also saw the launch of the Women's Prize for Non-fiction, looking to emulate their success in celebrating and showcasing women's writing in to non-fiction realm. In February the longlist for this year's Women's Prize for Non-Fiction was announced. Click here to find out more and discover the longlist. Until the 26th March you can also enter our giveaway to win the entire Women's Prize for Non-Fiction Longlist. Click here to explore our giveaways.
2025 Women's Prize for Fiction Judges
The panel of Judges for the Women's Prize for Fiction changes every year. This year, author and Chair of Judges Kit de Waal is joined by novelist and journalist Diana Evans; author, journalist and mental-health campaigner Bryony Gordon; magazine editor Deborah Joseph; and musician and composer Amelia Warner.
The judges have already narrowed down the initial submissions to this 16 strong longlist and will shrink it further to a shortlist of six before choosing a winner.
Key Dates for the Women's Prize for Fiction
Longlist Announcement: 4th March
Shortlist Announcement: 2nd April
The winner will be announced alongside the winner of the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction at the Women's Prize Trust's summer party held in central London on the 12th June.
The winning author will receive a cheque for £30,000 anonymously endowed as well as the iconic limited edition statuette known as the 'Bessie' created and donated by the artist Grizel Niven.
The 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction Longlist
Good Girl by Aria Aber
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Somewhere Else by Jenni Daiches
Amma by Saraid de Silva
Crooked Seeds by Karen Jennings
All Fours by Miranda July
The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji
Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Nesting by Roisín O’Donnell
A Little Trickerie by Rosanna Pike
Birding by Rose Ruane
The Artist by Lucy Steeds
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
Several of the novels on the longlist span continents and generations with historical stories and characters caught in the crosswinds of global events. In these books we also see women challenging society's expectations around age, motherhood and sexuality.
Our Editorial Expert Lilly Lindon loved The Ministry of Time, proclaiming "Oh my God. This is one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time". They have been recommending it since the early chapters, so it's great to see that it's being recognised in this year's Women's Prize longlist.
We've also already read All Fours by Miranda July. Selected as a Star Book and a Liz Robinson Pick of the Month when it was first released in May last year, it's "A bruisingly vibrant and freeing novel that gives incredibly intimate access to an artist as she journeys into mid-life changes" as a road trip is derailed and becomes a quest for a new type of freedom.
More than half of this year's longlist are debuts, with nine debut novelists making the longlist with their first book. Whereas Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche is celebrated this year for her fourth novel, which is also published worldwide today. With the release of the 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction longlist, all four of Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche's books have been celebrated by the Women's Prize. Half of a Yellow Sun won in 2007 and was also voted the 'Winner of Winners' in a poll in 2020. Laila Lalami has also featured on a past longlist, in 2010 with Secret Son, and Elizabeth Strout was shortlisted for her debut novel, Amy & Isabelle in 2000 and has subsequently been twice longlisted prior to today's announcement.
Kit de Waal, Chair of Judges, said: ‘I’m thrilled to announce the longlist for the 30th Women’s Prize for Fiction. It has been an absolute honour to be immersed in so many utterly exhilarating and hugely imaginative books during the reading process. There were many lively debates on the judging panel over the final sixteen books and it was a very close-run thing, but the list we have revealed today is overflowing with compelling stories, and writing that demonstrates passion, wit and empathy. These are important, far-reaching novels where brilliantly realised characters navigate the complexities of families and modern relationships, whilst pushing the boundaries placed around them. It’s a list that readers will devour and shows the echoes of world events on everyday lives as well as the power and brilliance of women writing today.’
Find out more about Women's Prize for Fiction at the Women's Prize website: www.womensprize.com
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