Culture News

Women's Prize longlist of 16: Kitamura, Choi and two Indian-origin writers make the cut

The Women's Prize for Fiction announced a 16-book longlist for 2026 on Wednesday, March 4. The Independent reports that the chair of judges, former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard, called the list a “treasure trove” of “unheard voices”. Names include Katie Kitamura (Audition) and Susan Choi (Flashlight), both on last year's Booker Prize shortlist, as well as Kit de Waal, Lily King, Megha Majumdar and Charlotte McConaghy.

The Independent highlights Lucy Apps's debut Gloria Don't Speak, about a teenager with a learning disability, and notes that several titles deal with displacement caused by conflict and political upheaval, such as Hannah Lillith Assadi's Paradiso 17, which follows a man in exile. It says the list gives space to emerging novelists and small independent publishers.

India's Scroll led with two Indian-origin writers: Megha Majumdar for A Guardian and a Thief and Sheena Kalayil for The Others. It listed the other authors, including Elaine Castillo, Wendy Erskine and Alice Evelyn Yang. Gillard is joined on the panel by Mona Arshi, Salma El-Wardany, Cariad Lloyd and Annie Macmanus.

A shortlist of six will be announced on April 22 and the winner on June 11 at a London ceremony, alongside the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction winner. The winner receives £30,000 and a statuette known as the “Bessie”, created by the late artist Grizel Niven. Last year's prize went to Yael van der Wouden for The Safekeep.

How each outlet framed it

• The Independent — big names, recurring themes and the role of small publishers.
• Scroll — the South Asian writers on the list.

What we don't know yet: Which six books will make the April 22 shortlist. Both outlets work from the prize's own announcement.