Half of the 2023 shortlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction is made up of debut novels from older writers – with the youngest of them aged 49. Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris and Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks were all picked – in a blow to literary ageism that often leads younger talents to be promoted as more exciting.
Former winners Maggie O’Farrell and Barbara Kingsolver are also chosen, for The Marriage Portrait and Demon Copperhead respectively.
The six-strong list is completed by Laline Paull’s work Pod. She was previously shortlisted in 2015.
Ms Morris, whose book captures life inside the Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War of the 1990s, is the youngest of the cohort at 49.
Among the novels’ other subjects are the Troubles in Northern Ireland in Ms Kennedy’s Trespasses and the riots of 1979 in Southall, London, in Ms Crooks’ Fire Rush.
The oldest author is Ms Kingsolver at 68, one of two shortlisted writers in their 60s, and there are three in their 50s. Four are British, along with one American and one Irish author.
Louise Minchin, 54, chairwoman of the judging panel, said the experiences of each first-time novelist is evident in their works, noting: “We should be celebrating writers of all ages and not discriminating against either younger or older writers.
“You can tell in some ways that they have been working on them for a long time because they’re so accomplished, so exquisitely written.”
Describing the shortlist mix as “brilliantly eclectic”, the broadcaster added: “They are very hard-hitting.
“For me, the theme that comes through them all is that they are an emotional rollercoaster in some way.”
Ms Minchin said the fact that many of the books are set during turbulent moments in recent history allows readers to “understand the impact of events through a personal story”.
Also on the judging panel are author Rachel Joyce, journalist Bella Mackie, novelist Irenosen Okojie and Labour MP Tulip Siddiq.
The gong is to be handed out on June 14 at the Women’s Prize Trust’s Summer Party in Central London.
The winner will get a cheque for £30,000 and a bronze figurine by the late sculptor Grizel Niven.
