Women's Prize 2019 shortlist announced

Founded by novelist Kate Mosse, literary agent Jane Gregory, publisher Susan Sandon and Prize Director Harriet Hastings, the Women's Prize for Fiction is a prestigious annual award which is given to female authors. The Prize was conceived in the early 90s when the founders noticed that in 1991 there were no female authors who were shortlisted for the Booker Prize, whereas in 1992 only 10 percent female novelists were shortlisted. They realised that despite the ratio of books published by men and women being around 60:40, not enough female writers were nominated for awards. And so, to honour and celebrate the best women's fiction writing across the world, the Women's Prize for Fiction was founded. Over the years the Prize underwent several name changes, depending on the award sponsor, but its reputation has increased manyfolds. Recently, in February 2019, the prize was recognised as a registered charity.

The Women's Prize 2019 shortlist of six books was announced on April 29. Interestingly, more books on the lines of feminist retelling of history are shortlisted for this year. Here's the shortlist which features a vast range of voices from authors of different nationalities which you should add to your reading list!
(Photo: Womensprizeforfiction.co.uk )

English author Pat Barker's 'The Silence of the Girls' is a retelling of The Iliad written from the point of view of Briseis, Princess of Troy, who is made a slave to Achilles, who killed her husband and brothers. The novel is interwoven with many other tales. It shows the price innocent women end up paying during war.
(Photo: Doubleday)

American novelit Madeline Miller's 2018 book 'Circe' tells the story of Circe, the sorceress from the Odyssey who turned Odysseus and his men into pigs. This book tells the story of her birth, her power and how the fear of that her power made her what she was in the Odyssey. It's noted that Miller previously won the Orange Prize for Fiction (Women's Prize in Fiction's former name) for her debut novel 'The Song of Achilles'.
(Photo: Bloomsbury Publishing)

Northern Irish author Anna Burns won the 2018 Man Booker Prize for her novel 'Milkman'. Set during The Troubles in Northern Ireland, It's the story of a young 18-year-old girl who is harassed by a much older married man caled the "milkman". Their illicit affair in an unnamed small town brings out the small mind-set of such places and highlights how gossip can be damning and inaction deadly. Burns was ealier shortlisted for the Women's Prize for her book 'No Bones'.
(Photo: Faber & Faber)

Debutant Nigerian novelist Oyinkan Braithwaite's book 'My Sister, the Serial Killer' is about a girl who has often helped her sister clean up the 'mess' after she kills her boyfriends. But things get complicated when her sister starts dating someone she's been in love with for a long time. The book is filled with sharp satire and dark humour.
(Photo: Atlantic Books)

British novelist Diana Evans' book 'Ordinary People' is set in South London during 2008. It was the time of Barack Obama's historic presidential elections. As the title suggests, the book tells the stories of regular people going through the ups and downs in their lives. The stories perfectly capture life during that time and explore topics like parenthood, love, loss, friendship and the idea of growing old. Evans' has earlier won an Orange Award for New Writers for her first novel '26a'.
(Photo: Chatto & Windus)

American author Tayari Jones' novel 'An American Marriage' follows an African-American family who is torn apart after the husband is wrongfully accused and imprisoned on the charges of murder for 12 years. Published in 2018, the book was selected by Oprah's bookclub and also got recommended by Barack Obama, apart from other positive reviews.
(Photo: Oneworld)