The Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist for 2023 was announced yesterday. The 16 titles are:
Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo
Homesick by Jennifer Croft
Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks
Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh
The Dog of the North by Elizabeth McKenzie
Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
I’m a Fan by Sheena Patel
Pod by Laline Paull
Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
Memphis by Tara M Stringfellow
I didn’t write a predictions post for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that ‘The Marriage Portrait’ by Maggie O’Farrell would definitely have been on it and I will be seeking out a copy at some point. I already have a NetGalley copy of ‘Demon Copperhead’ by Barbara Kingsolver on my Kindle which I hope to read soon. Her ninth novel is loosely based on the structure of ‘David Copperfield’ by Charles Dickens but set in southwest Virginia in the 1990s.
I was expecting to see ‘Birnam Wood’ by Eleanor Catton and ‘I Have Some Questions For You’ by Rebecca Makkai on the longlist, neither of which made the cut. Instead, the judges have chosen nine debut novels including ‘Homesick’ by Jennifer Croft which has been marketed as a memoir in the United States and as a coming-of-age novel about two sisters by its UK publisher Charco Press. Croft won the International Man Booker Prize in 2018 for translating Flights by Olga Tokarczuk from the original Polish. I’ve also seen lots of positive reviews for ‘I’m a Fan’ by Sheena Patel which is about how social media can influence power dynamics in relationships.
What are your thoughts on this year’s longlist and which books are you keen to read?
A Little Blog of Books 
Thanks for sharing this list! I have not read any of them, but I’ll be trying to read some of them
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I was very surprised not to see Birnam Wood, which I loved. I’ve read The Marriage Portrait, Trespasses (which I loved) and Demon Copperhead, which I admired more than enjoyed. Will be interesting to see how they whittle down to the shortlist.
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This long-list is definitely thought-provoking. I haven’t even realised or entertained a possibility that Catton’s book may not be there. With this much book anticipation and the Booker Prize behind, Catton not being on the long list is an achievement of a sort, too. I’d say Kingsolver, O’Farrell and Mackintosh are safe bets, but I am hopelessly rooting for a number of debutees.
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