Virginia Evans won the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Hemingway Award for her debut novel The Correspondent, a number one and a New York Times bestseller. She lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, attended James Madison University for her bachelor’s in English literature, as well as Trinity College in Dublin for her master’s of philosophy in creative writing. A film adaptation of The Correspondent by Lionsgate is currently in development, starring Academy Award®–winner Jane Fonda. Fonda will also produce the film alongside Todd Lieberman via Hidden Pictures. Cat Vasko will write the screenplay and serve as executive producer, alongside Virginia Evans.
A remarkable novel, with an exemplary combination of originality, excellence and accessibility. It is no mean feat to write a life in letters, but Evans makes this feel effortless, asking the reader to consider the choices we make, whilst elevating an ordinary life in the most heartfelt of ways.”
Julia Gillard, Chair of Judges for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction
