We are over the moon to reveal that Ruth Ozeki has won the 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction with her fourth novel The Book of Form and Emptiness.
At an awards ceremony in Bedford Square Gardens, London, hosted by novelist and Women’s Prize Founder Director, Kate Mosse – the 2022 Chair of Judges, Mary Ann Sieghart presented Ruth with the £30,000 prize, endowed by an anonymous donor, and the ‘Bessie’, a limited edition bronze figurine by Grizel Niven.
Watch the moment Ruth was announced as the 2022 Women’s Prize winner!
In an extraordinary year for fiction written by women, and from an incredibly strong shortlist, we were thrilled to choose Ruth Ozeki’s The Book of Form and Emptiness, which stood out for its sparkling writing, warmth, intelligence, humour and poignancy. A celebration of the power of books and reading, it tackles big issues of life and death, and is a complete joy to read. Ruth Ozeki is a truly original and masterful storyteller.
Mary Ann Sieghart, 2022 Chair of Judges
The Book of Form and Emptiness blends memorable characters, a riveting plot and a vibrant engagement with a variety of themes, including grief and loss, growing up, neurodiversity, climate change, jazz and our attachment to material possessions. Asked about her inspiration for writing the novel, Ruth Ozeki said: ‘As a child, I related to objects as though they were semi-sentient, and even now I think about the stories that things could tell if only they could speak. Do things (trees, pebbles, toaster ovens, nuclear reactors, etc.) speak? Can they teach us about life? About reality? Obviously, the answer is yes, if we could only learn to listen.’
