Women’s Prize wining author of Brotherless Night, V.V. Ganeshananthan, joins the inaugural selection panel for Originators, the Women’s Prize Trust’s mentorship and development program dedicated to supporting emerging women fiction writers from across the United States, presented by CHANEL.
Ahead of the program closing for applications on Monday, November 30, 2026, we caught up with Sugi to hear more about her approach to writing, favourite authors and what she’s looking for in the work she reads.
Who are some of your favourite women writing today?
I was completely floored by Uprising by Tahmima Anam. I’ve always admired her work. She has incredible range. That story is so extraordinarily powerful.
I also really love the writing of Michelle de Kretser. I vividly remember reading The Hamilton Case for the first time. Everything she writes seems necessary and fresh to me.
I’ve been reading Elizabeth McCracken for three decades, since a beloved teacher first handed me her work. I think the tenderness and humor of Elizabeth’s writing has always been a north star for me.
You’ve spoken with hundreds of writers for your podcast fiction/non/fiction; what are the common threads between them? Are there particular traits or truths that make a writer?
If the writers on our show have something in common, it is that they are intensely engaged with both imaginative worlds and the world around them.
Could you reveal a secret or something surprising about your creative process?
In recent years, I have often had to write using voice recognition, because of chronic and severe injuries to my hands. On some days, I really hate this. But there are others when just saying my words aloud begins to make the story real. And so I have begun to write this way, by talking.
What is your advice for someone at the beginning of their writing journey?
To read widely and voraciously, to develop one’s own taste and loves. I read across genres, and hope you might too. In these times, I think it is also vital to seek out writing in translation.
As a member of the selection panel, what are your looking for in an application for Originators?
A strong and original voice that stays with me long after I have closed the manuscript.
What would be your one tip for an emerging writer thinking of applying to Originators, or seeking mentorship?
I have learned so much by just trying new things. What do you have to lose?
