WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION | 2019 WINNER ANNOUNCED!

After months of waiting, countless hours spent reading the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019 longlist and shortlist, and very nearly making it through the six books in contention for this year’s prize, I’m thrilled that today the winner has been announced! (If you missed it and are still curious, you can check out my roundup of the shortlist and predictions here.)

You’ve probably already heard, but in case you haven’t, here’s this year’s winner:

I couldn’t be more pleased. I read this book earlier this year, after hearing great things about it, and was completely absorbed into Jones’ language and world. It managed to perfectly balance its very serious issues with a reading experience that was enjoyable and compelling. On a line-by-line basis, Jones is an incredibly talented writer. There were so many lines I stopped to listen to again, even got a physical copy of the book so I could mark some favourite passages more permanently. She evoked a sense of place brilliantly, and her characters came to life for me. This book deserves to win this prestigious award, and I hope those of you who have not yet read it will pick it up and give it a try! (I’d highly recommend the Audible audiobook, which made the reading experience that much more engaging!)

I’d like to congratulate Tayari Jones on her well-deserved win, and all the longlisted and shortlisted authors for making this year’s prize so much fun to follow! I’d also like to congratulate this year’s Women’s Prize judges for their hard work and for making such a difficult decision, because there were some very strong contenders!

I’ve had a wonderful time following along with the prize and trying my best to read through as many of the nominated books as I could. I have found some great books I might not otherwise have gotten to anytime soon, and isn’t that what makes prizes like this one so great?

I hope you have all enjoyed this year’s Women’s Prize season; I’m already looking forward to next year!

If you are still interested in checking out other books that were in contention for the prize this year, you can find the longlist here and the shortlist here.