Collection: Award Shortlists and Winners

The Women's Prize for Fiction 2026 Shortlist
Founded as a riposte to 1991’s all-male Booker Prize shortlist, since 1996 the Women’s Prize for Fiction has underpinned a renaissance in literary fiction written by women. The sheer standard of former winners – including Zadie Smith, Madeline Miller, Ali Smith, Maggie O’Farrell and the much-missed Andrea Levy – has ensured the Prize’s continued standing as one of the country’s elite literary awards.

This year’s shortlist reflects once more the incredible diversity of women’s fiction writing in English, featuring both new and established voices and ranging from a striking, lyrical study in the psychology of desire to a decades-spanning tale of identity, national belonging and the power of secrets.

The winner will be crowned on Thursday 11 June.