This Black History Month we’ve dived into the Women’s Prize library to create a reading list featuring some of the amazing Black women within the Women’s Prize family – from shortlistees, prize-winners, to judges. Exploring an array of themes, including love, family, class and Black womanhood, this selection of fiction and nonfiction are must-haves for your reading lists.
Winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2006
Crowned our winner of winners in a public vote for the 25th anniversary of the prize, Half of a Yellow Sun is an iconic must-read book. Set against the brutal backdrop of the Nigerian Civil War, this is a novel about Africa in a wider sense: about the end of colonialism, ethnic allegiances, class and race.
Longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction 2024
In her book Harvard historian Tiya Miles tells the story of Rose, an enslaved woman, who faced a crisis: the imminent sale of her daughter Ashley. Through the sack of possessions Ashley takes with her, Tiya Miles uncovers a rich and evocative family history. This is history at its most-lived and most essential.
Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020
This prize-winning novel tells many stories about the lives of British women through circumstance, generations and social classes. It is a love song to modern Britain and black womanhood.
Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction 2024
An extraordinary and unflinching memoir of family, education and resilience, as Safiya Sinclair recounts her childhood in Jamaica. How to Say Babylon is an unforgettable story of a young woman’s determination to live life on her own terms.
Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019
Set against the backdrop of Barack Obama’s historic election victory, Ordinary People follows two couples in South London as they face a moment that could change their lives forever. Tackling themes of identity and parenthood, sex and grief, friendship and aging, this is a story of the chances and changes that haunt us.
Winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2004
Small Island tells the story of post-war Caribbean migration and is a masterful, humane account of the experience of the Windrush generation. Now a major BBC drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Naomie Harris, this is a book that will stay with you for a long time after you close the last page.
From Discoveries 2021 judge Abi Daré
A heart-breaking but inspiring journey from a small village to the wealthy enclaves of Lagos, following fourteen-year-old Adunni, who refuses to let herself be silenced. A tale of determination, courage and the power of speaking up, The Girl with the Louding Voice shows you that no matter the situation, there is always some joy to be found.
Longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022
Peopled by a cast of quirky, unforgettable characters, This One Sky Day is a beautiful and surreal story of life and love, that follows two star-crossed lovers try to find their way back to one another across a single day. Brimming with magical realism, it’s hard not to get lost in the story and be captivated by its characters.
