The Women's Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes. It was previously known as the Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–2008), and the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017). The prize is given each year to a female author from any country for the best original long novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom the year before. In 2023, a sister prize called the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction was started.

Early history

The prize was created in 1996 to honor the writing achievements of women. It was inspired by the Booker Prize in 1991, when none of the six books chosen for the shortlist were written by women, even though about 60% of all novels published that year were written by women. A group of people working in the book industry, including authors, publishers, and librarians, met to talk about this problem. Studies showed that women’s writing accomplishments were often not recognized by important literary awards.

The person who wins the prize receives £30,000 and a bronze sculpture named Bessie, made by artist Grizel Niven. Each year, a longlist of books is announced in March, followed by a shortlist in June. The winner is chosen shortly after the shortlist is released. The winner is selected by a group of five women who are leaders in the field.

In 2004, the Orange Prize for Fiction released a list of 50 books that were considered important by readers. These books were chosen by 500 people who attended the Guardian Hay Festival. The list includes books written by living authors from the United Kingdom. It is called the Orange Prize for Fiction’s “50 Essential Reads by Contemporary Authors.”

Name history and sponsors

The prize was first supported by Orange, a company that provides phone and internet services. In May 2012, Orange announced it would no longer sponsor the prize. In 2013, there was no business sponsor, and the prize was supported by private individuals and groups, including Cherie Blair and writers Joanna Trollope and Elizabeth Buchan.

Starting in 2014, the prize was sponsored by Baileys Irish Cream, a brand owned by Diageo, a large company that makes drinks. In January 2017, Diageo said it would step aside to let a new sponsor take over after the 2017 prize was announced in June.

In June 2017, the prize announced it would change its name to "Women's Prize for Fiction" beginning in 2018. It would be supported by a group of sponsors. As of 2023, the sponsors include Baileys and Audible.

• Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006, 2009–2012)
• Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–2008)
• Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017)
• Women's Prize for Fiction (2013, 2018–present)

Legacy

The prize has led to the creation of several different competitions and awards, including the Harper's Bazaar Broadband Short Story Competition, the Orange Award for New Writers, the Penguin/Orange Readers' Group Prize, and the Reading Book Group of the Year.

In 2023, it was announced that a new prize, the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction, would begin in 2024. This prize offers £30,000, and for the first three years, it will be supported by the Charlotte Aitken Trust, which will also provide the winner's statue, called "The Charlotte."

In 2025, a special prize called The Women's Prize Outstanding Contribution Award was created. This one-time prize, funded by Bukhman Philanthropies, honors a living female writer for her body of work, her contributions to literature, and her support for women. To qualify, the writer must have been longlisted, shortlisted, or won the Women’s Prize for Fiction in the past 30 years and must have published at least five books. The panel chose Bernardine Evaristo as the recipient of this award.

Winners and shortlisted writers

In 2025, Yael van der Wouden won the Women's Prize for Fiction for her first book, The Safekeep.

#ThisBook

In May 2014, the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction started the #ThisBook campaign to learn which books written by women have had the greatest influence on readers. Nineteen "inspirational women" were chosen to help start the campaign, and then thousands of people from the "general public" sent their suggestions using Twitter. The 20 winning books were announced on July 29, 2014. The organizers said that nearly half (eight) of the winning books were published before 1960.

Reclaim Her Name

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the prize, sponsor Bailey's worked with the prize organizers to republish 25 books that were previously published using male names. These books now show the real names of the female authors on their covers, to honor their work and give them proper recognition. Some of the books include Middlemarch, republished with the name Mary Ann Evans instead of George Eliot; A Phantom Lover, republished with the name Violet Paget instead of Vernon Lee; Indiana, republished with the name Amantine Aurore Dupin instead of George Sand; and Takekurabe, republished with the name Natsu Higuchi instead of Ichiyō Higuchi.

The campaign has faced criticism from the press, scholars, and publishers. Some errors were found, such as a book titled The Life of Martin R. Delany, which was incorrectly attributed to Frances Rollin Whipper instead of Frank A. Rollin. The cover also showed Frederick Douglass, not Martin Delany. The series was also criticized for attributing a book with uncertain authorship to Edith Maude Eaton, the given name of Sui Sin Far. Additionally, some names used in the campaign were not actually used by the authors. For example, Mary Ann Evans, the real name of George Eliot, never combined "Mary Ann" and "Evans" in her signature. She used other variations, such as Mary Anne Evans, Marian Evans Lewes, and Mary Ann Cross. Bailey's apologized for the mistake on the cover of The Life of Martin R. Delany, explaining it was due to a human error, and replaced the cover.

Other critics questioned the campaign’s understanding of why authors used different names. Some argued that the campaign assumed it was possible to "reclaim" a name that was not originally used by the author. Others pointed out that a legal name is not always more important than a chosen name. Scholars, such as those in the academic journal Legacy, discussed these issues in detail. Experts like Lois Brown, Mary Chapman, Brigitte Fielder, Grace Lavery, Christine Yao, and Sandra Zagarell shared their views. Olivia Rutigliano wrote that the campaign ignored how authors themselves wanted to present their work and their identities. Catherine Taylor of The Times Literary Supplement noted that using a "one-size-fits-all" approach overlooks the complexity of publishing history, as some authors, like Vernon Lee, completely stopped using their legal names, while others, like George Sand, incorporated them into their public image. Grace Lavery also mentioned that George Eliot continued writing as Eliot even after her identity as Marian Evans Lewes was revealed, and she seemed to enjoy being thought of as male.

Amy Richardson of The Attic on Eighth pointed out that renaming Sui Sin Far or Mahlon T. Wing as Edith Maude Eaton ignored the author’s choice to use a Chinese name to reclaim her identity. She argued that this change made the work more offensive. Richardson also noted that many of the authors whose names were changed had already blurred the lines between their public and private identities, suggesting that the campaign did not fully understand the complexity of their choices.

Criticism

The prize does not include male writers, which has caused people to speak about it. When the prize was created, Auberon Waugh gave it the nickname "Lemon Prize." Germaine Greer said there might be a prize for "writers with red hair." A. S. Byatt, who won the 1990 Man Booker Prize, called the prize "sexist" and said it was not needed. She refused to have her work considered for this prize. In 2007, Simon Jenkins, a former editor of The Times, called the prize "sexist." In 2008, writer Tim Lott said the Orange Prize was "sexist and discriminatory" and should be avoided.

In 2011, London journalist Jean Hannah Edelstein wrote about her own "wrong reasons" for supporting the prize.

In 2012, Cynthia Ozick, writing in The New York Times, said the prize was not created in a time when women writers were treated fairly. She said, "For readers and writers, more prizes are better, no matter how they are set up."

In 1999, Lola Young, chair of the judges' panel, said British female literature was often either "insular and parochial" or "domestic in a small way." Linda Grant faced accusations of plagiarism after winning in 2000. In 2001, a group of male critics criticized the Orange shortlist and created their own. In 2007, Muriel Gray, chair of the panel, said judges had to review many weak books to find the shortlist. She praised the 2007 winner, Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, calling it "a moving and important book by an exciting author."

In 2019, Akwaeke Emezi’s debut novel, Freshwater, was nominated for the prize—the first time a non-binary transgender author was nominated. A judge, Professor Kate Williams, said the panel did not know Emezi was non-binary when the book was chosen, but Emezi was happy to be nominated. Non-binary commentator Vic Parsons asked, "Would a non-binary author assigned male at birth have been longlisted? I highly doubt it." After the nomination, the Women’s Prize Trust announced plans to create new guidelines for transgender, non-binary, and genderfluid authors. The Women’s Prize later asked Emezi to provide their "sex as defined by law" when submitting The Death of Vivek Oji for consideration. Emezi withdrew the book and said they would not submit future novels, calling the requirement "transphobic." Joanna Prior, Chair of Trustees for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, stated that the prize’s terms define "woman" as a cis woman, a transgender woman, or someone legally defined as a woman or of the female sex.