From the Women’s Prize Archives.

Read on for a few words from Women’s Prize For Fiction Board Chair Joanna Prior, Managing Director of Penguin General Books, on feminism, our new family of sponsors and celebrating women’s creativity.

We are delighted to announce the new sponsors of the Women’s Prize for Fiction – a family of sponsors; Baileys, Deloitte and NatWest.

These three brands are actively demonstrating their support for women and celebrating women’s voices. They are enlightened companies who really care about diversity and who recognise the importance of their female employees, clients and customers in the future of their business. We thank them warmly.

This year in Britain we celebrate the centenary of (some) women getting the vote. But we are celebrating too the rising up of today’s campaigners for equality and the call for an end to discrimination, misogyny and abuse. It is a time of urgent and important change in the culture.

Ours is a prize that was founded by women, is steered and run by women and the award itself is judged by women. It honours the creativity of female writers and shines a spotlight on their dazzling virtuosity and brilliance – not just for women but enjoyed by all readers, everywhere. Barack Obama, no less, selected last year’s winner, The Power by Naomi Alderman it as one of his books of 2017.

This year’s judges have been working hard and we look forward to announcing the 2018 longlist on Thursday 8th March, appropriately International Women’s Day.

I’d like to welcome our new sponsors on board. 2018 is turning out to be a momentous year for women and together we look forward to playing our part.