The most engaging conversations; the most captivating books; the most beautiful location: this is the ultimate day festival for readers and writers showcasing the very best female talent within and related to the world of books.
To celebrate the Women’s Prize for Fiction’s 30th year, we’ve put together a stellar line-up which includes a number of previous Women’s Prize for Fiction winners and judges, alongside stimulating discussions about the legacy of women’s writing and inspiring new voices. We also have a full line-up of writing workshops and industry 1-2-1s to offer insights for anyone pursuing their own writing journey.
This year, we’ve extended our events to give our panels more time to dig deep into their discussions, and give you more time to interact with the authors and ask your own questions.
For a full view on all Women’s Prize LIVE has in store, here’s our official programme of events:
12.15 – 1.15pm | In Conversation: Women’s Prize Outstanding Contribution Award, chaired by Kate Mosse
To mark the 30th anniversary of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, we’re presenting a female author with a special literary honour – the Outstanding Contribution Award, generously supported by Bukhman Philanthropies – to recognise her significant contribution to literature and advocacy for women. The recipient will be revealed on 4 June 2025, and will be opening Women’s Prize LIVE with an exclusive conversation with the Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and Non-Fiction, Kate Mosse. This is sure to be a memorable and unique event with one of the greatest writers of our age!
About the Speakers:
Recipient to be announced on 4 June.
Kate Mosse CBE is a no.1 international bestselling novelist, non-fiction writer, essayist and playwright. With sales of more than 8 million copies worldwide, her books have been translated into 37 languages and published in 40 countries. Her fiction includes the Languedoc trilogy (Labyrinth, Sepulchre and Citadel), the gothic novels The Winter Ghosts and The Taxidermist’s Daughter and The Joubert Family Chronicles series: The Burning Chambers, The City of Tears, The Ghost Ship and The Map of Bones.
The Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Women’s Prize for Non- Fiction, Kate is a Visiting Professor of Creative Writing and Contemporary Fiction at the University of Chichester, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, an Honorary Fellow of the Society of Authors and a Trustee of the British Library. She was awarded a CBE in 2024 for services to literature, women and charity.
1.30 – 2.45pm | Women Writing the Future
Laura Bates, chaired by Louise Minchin
Whilst the Women’s Prize has undoubtedly made huge strides in shifting the perception of women writers from all backgrounds, are these gains now under threat? Join campaigner Laura Bates with another speaker to be announced, to discuss the reasons why the conversation seems to be shifting backwards, how we deal with the challenge of new inequalities and why books are at the heart of our response, facilitated by author and broadcaster Louise Minchin.
About the Speakers:
Laura Bates is a Sunday Times bestselling author and the founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, a collection of over 200,000 testimonies of gender inequality. Her non-fiction books include Everyday Sexism, Girl Up, Misogynation, Men Who Hate Women and Fix the System, Not the Women. She writes regularly for The Guardian and the Telegraph, among other publications, and won a British Press Award in 2015. Laura works closely with organisations from the Council of Europe to the United Nations to tackle gender inequality. She was awarded a British Empire Medal for services to gender equality and has been named a woman of the year by Cosmopolitan, Red and The Sunday Times.
Broadcaster, writer and triathlete Louise Minchin chaired the Women’s Prize for Fiction judging panel in 2023. Formerly one of the main presenters on BBC Breakfast for a decade, she recently published her debut novel, the gripping crime thriller Isolation Island. She has also presented The One Show, Five Live Drive, Real Rescues and Missing Live and has been a contestant on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, Time Crashers and Celebrity MasterChef. Her first book, Dare to Tri, charted her journey from the Breakfast sofa to representing the Great Britain Triathlon team in her age-group at World and European Championships.
3 – 4pm | In Conversation: Rose Tremain
chaired by Simon and Louise Savidge
Join us for this very special edition of the Women’s Prize Bookclub, in partnership with Storyhouse, where hosts Simon and Louise Savidge will be in conversation with 2008 Women’s Prize for Fiction winner Rose Tremain. Rose won the Prize with her insightful novel The Road Home, a witty and wise look at the life of a migrant, and she’ll be discussing this book alongside others from her extensive writing career. She’ll also be revealing her own recommended read from the Women’s Prize Library to the Book Club, and Simon and Louise will gift her one, too. So three new books for your TBR!
About the speakers:
Rose Tremain’s novels and short stories have been published in thirty countries and have won many awards, including the Women’s Prize for Fiction (The Road Home), the Dylan Thomas Award (The Colonel’s Daughter and Other Stories), the Whitbread Novel of the Year (Music & Silence) the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Prix Femina in France (Sacred Country) and the South Bank Sky Arts Award (The Gustav Sonata). Lily (published in 2021) was a Richard and Judy Book Club selection, and her most recent novel is Absolutely and Forever, published to critical acclaim in 2023. Rose Tremain was made a CBE in 2007 and a Dame in 2020. She lives in Norfolk and London with the biographer, Richard Holmes.
4.15 – 5.15pm | In Conversation: Tayari Jones
chaired by Naga Munchetty
Tayari Jones won the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction with her novel An American Marriage, described by Barack Obama as ‘a moving portrayal of the effects of a young African American couple’. We’re delighted to welcome her to Women’s Prize LIVE to discuss the powerful subjects around her novel and why amplifying women’s voices matters more than ever.
About the Speakers:
New York Times best-selling author Tayari Jones is the author of four novels, most recently An American Marriage, which won the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Published in 2018, An American Marriage is an Oprah’s Book Club Selection and also appeared on Barack Obama’s summer reading list as well as his year-end roundup. The novel was awarded Aspen Words Prize and an NAACP Image Award. It has been published in two dozen countries.
Naga Munchetty is a British journalist and broadcaster. She presents BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Breakfast. A fierce advocate for women’s health, her new book, It’s Probably Nothing explores the devastating outcome of decades of ingrained medical misogyny. By sharing her own experiences of pain and advocating on behalf of others to key decision-makers, she has been able to initiate meaningful change within the NHS.
6 – 8.30pm | 2025 Shortlist Readings
Women’s Prize for Fiction and Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction
To complete our day of wonderful events, is the rare opportunity to listen to live readings from the books that dazzled our 2025 judges, from the authors themselves. At this hugely popular event the 12 shortlisted authors of both prizes will be taking to the stage to read from their novels and answer questions about their work. Hosted by their respective Chair of Judges, Kit de Waal and Kavita Puri, this evening is not one to miss!
Speakers include, for the Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist: Kit de Waal (Chair of Judges), Aria Aber, Miranda July, Sanam Mahloudji, Elizabeth Strout, Yael van der Wouden and Nussaibah Younis. For the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction: Kavita Puri (Chair of Judges), Neneh Cherry, Rachel Clarke, Chloe Dalton, Clare Mulley, Helen Scales and Yuan Yang.
Please note, this event includes an interval, and will be followed by a signing.
12-15 – 1.15pm | Discoveries Debuts
Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin and Emma van Straaten, chaired by Azieb Pool
Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin and Emma van Straaten are two exciting new voices who have come through the Women’s Prize Discoveries programme, run in partnership with Audible, Curtis Brown and Curtis Brown Creative. We’re delighted that their debut novels Ordinary Saints and This Immaculate Body have been published to huge acclaim in our 30th year. Ordinary Saints is an exploration of family, grief, queer identity, and the legacy of the Catholic Church in Ireland; as protagonist Jay learns her younger brother is to be canonized as a saint, she’s forced to confront the part of herself she thought she’d left behind. In This Immaculate Body, described by Vogue as ‘a chilling book by an exciting new voice’, cleaner Alice obsessively clings to a future with her client Tom who she’s never met.
About the Speakers:
Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin was the winner of the inaugural PFD Queer Fiction Prize and was also shortlisted for the Women’s Prize Discoveries Award in 2022. Her debut literary novel is Ordinary Saints.
Emma van Straaten is a writer of British-Mauritian heritage living in London with her husband and two daughters. Born in Lewisham, she grew up on the Sussex coast, headed north to Durham to study English Literature, and is now happily surrounded by books working at The London Library. In 2021, days after her first child was born, she won the inaugural Women’s Prize Discoveries Award with an early partial draft of This Immaculate Body and has been writing whenever she can, ever since.
Azieb Pool is Artistic Director & CEO of the Bernie Grant Arts Centre, London and founder of the Tottenham Literature Festival. Azieb is a member of the Mayor of London’s Black Cultural Event Cultural Advisory Group, a former trustee of London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT), a former Artistic Advisor to Manchester International Festival (MIF), and a patron of the SI Leeds Prize, celebrating unpublished fiction by UK Black and Asian women. Azieb has written for many international publications including The Guardian, The Times and Vogue Magazine UK. Azieb is the author of two books: Fashion Cities Africa and My Fathers’ Daughter, which was reprinted in 2022 as part Bernardine Evaristo and Penguin publishing’s Black Britain Writing Back series.
1.30 – 2.30pm | Jane Austen: Why She Still Matters
Gill Hornby and Nikki May, chaired by Cariad Lloyd
2025 not only marks the 30th anniversary of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, but it’s also the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, so it seems a fitting moment to celebrate a writer whose universal truths still resonate with readers globally. Comedian, podcaster and member of the improvisation group Austentatious, Cariad Lloyd chairs authors Gill Hornby, author of Miss Austen and her latest novel The Elopement and Nikki May, author of This Motherless Land, to discuss why Austen’s themes are still so compelling to modern audiences.
About the Speakers:
Gill Hornby is the author of the novels The Hive and All Together Now, as well as The Story of Jane Austen, a biography of Austen for young readers. Her subsequent novels, Miss Austen and Godmersham Park, were Sunday Times bestsellers, and Miss Austen is a four-part BBC adaptation starring Keeley Hawes as Cassandra Austen. She lives in West Berkshire with her husband and their four children.
Born in Bristol and raised in Lagos, Nikki May is Anglo-Nigerian. Her critically acclaimed debut novel Wahala won the Comedy Women In Print New Voice Prize, was shortlisted for the Diverse Book Award and the Fingerprint Debut of the Year Award, and longlisted for the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award. It’s being turned into a major BBC TV drama series. Her second novel, This Motherless Land was shortlisted for the 2025 Fiction with a Sense of Place Stanford Prize. Nikki lives in Dorset, England, with her husband, two standard Schnauzers and way too many books.
Cariad Lloyd is an actor, writer, podcaster and improviser. She has appeared in numerous comedy shows, most recently in Changing Ends for ITV and in Out of Her Mind for the BBC. She has also been seen in Peep Show, Inside No.9 and Beyond Paradise. She has appeared on QI, Have I Got News For You and House of Games as herself. She is one of the UK’s best improvisers and created the award-winning West End show Austentatious. She is the author of You Are Not Alone, the Times bestseller based on her award winning podcast, Griefcast; and last year her first children’s book, The Christmas Wish-Tastrophe was published to critical acclaim. She also hosts the Weirdos Book Club podcast with Sara Pascoe.
3 – 4pm | Spinning Stories with Akan Books
Jenny Knight and Charlotte Paradise, chaired by June Sarpong
Join author, broadcast and diversity advocate June Sarpong to discuss her new imprint Akan Books with two compelling debut authors, Jenny Knight and Charlotte Paradise. Akan aims to break down barriers for writers and make the industry more accessible with a focus on giving a voice to unpublished authors from underrepresented backgrounds. The panel will discuss their own writing journeys, the challenges they’ve faced and what can be done within publishing to ensure more voices are heard.
About the Speakers:
Jenny Knight is a prize-winning writer of short story, fiction and memoir and a contributor to Kit de Waal’s celebrated Common People anthology. Jenny has taught creative writing in prisons, worked with storytellers/actors for the UN/Comic Relief in Somalia/Kenya, chaired and spoken on panels, and held workshops about writing, rejection and resilience. She has a degree in English Lit & Drama, and studied Creative Writing at UEA. She has also worked on farms, in pubs, factories, as a roadie, a short-term temp in the 80s music industry in London, and renovated a former pigsty. Her first novel is Wild Moon Rising and is published in June.
Charlotte Paradise is a Disabled author and screenwriter with a MA in Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media from the Royal Central School of Drama. Her short films have been selected, nominated and award-winning at film festivals, including internationally. Her first novel is Overspill which was published in April 2025.
June Sarpong OBE is one of the most recognisable British television presenters and broadcasters, as well as being a prominent activist, having co-founded the WIE Network (Women: Inspiration and Enterprise) and the Decide Act Now summit. In 2019, she was appointed the first ever ‘Director of Creative Diversity’ at the BBC.
Women’s Prize LIVE presents a full programme of workshops and publishing industry 1:2:1s for Day Pass holders to add on to their booking.
If you already have your Day Pass to Women’s Prize LIVE, book your Add-Ons here
To book your Day Pass and Add-Ons, go here
12.15 – 1.15pm | Creating Place and Atmosphere
with Priscilla Morris
Everything starts with place. Join Priscilla for a fun, memorable workshop that will explore how subject, theme, plot, character, voice and structure can all spring from place. Rather than being mere window-dressing or backdrop, Priscilla will persuade you that place is primordial. She’ll discuss how place was fundamental to the writing of her debut novel, Black Butterflies, and look at its organising, generative role in other works such as Noreen Masud’s A Flat Place. You’ll learn how to use the senses, memory, emotion, imagination and research to evoke a strong sense of place and atmosphere in your own writing. Bring something to write on.
Priscilla Morris is a British author who divides her time between Ireland and Spain. Born to a Bosnian mother and a Cornish father, Priscilla grew up in London and spent her childhood summers in Sarajevo. Her debut novel Black Butterflies brings the siege of Sarajevo to life through the eyes of Zora, a warm, resilient artist. It was a New York Times Best Historical Fiction in 2024 and a 2023 finalist for the Women’s Prize and four other notable prizes. It’s been translated into 10 languages. Priscilla teaches creative writing and facilitates writing retreats in Catalonia. Read more at priscillamorris.org.
Book your spot here!
2.45 – 3.45pm | Weaving Stories from Life
with Esther Freud
Esther Freud is the author of ten novels, including Hideous Kinky, My Sister and Other Lovers, and I Couldn’t Love You More. Many of her books have been inspired by people and places from her own life and her family’s past. In this workshop on Weaving Stories from Life, Esther will explore ways of delving into a writers’ own pool of stories to shape a narrative with action and suspense to keep a reader hooked.
Esther Freud is the author of nine previous novels, and her work has been translated into thirteen languages. Her first novel Hideous Kinky was made into a film starring Kate Winslet. After publishing her second book she was selected as one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists. Her other novels include The Sea House, Mr Mac and Me, and I Couldn’t Love You More. Freud’s first full length play, Stitchers, was produced in London in 2018; her first book for children, Enchanted Beach, will be published in the summer of 2025.
Book your spot here!
4 – 5pm | Writing Your Way on Substack
with Emma Gannon and Jessica Pan
Substack is an exciting platform for anyone wanting to share their writing, create a community and even earn an income, but what are the best ways to approach it? Emma Gannon and Jessica Pan will be sharing the lessons that they’ve learnt in this enlightening workshop about the potential of Substack to reach new readers and spark creative ideas.
Emma Gannon is a Sunday Times bestselling author and creator of the popular Substack newsletter The Hyphen. She has written columns on work, wellbeing and creativity, and published six bestselling books. Her debut novel Olive was longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award in 2022. For six years she hosted the WEBBY-nominated careers podcast Ctrl, Alt, Delete, which has had over 13 million downloads to date. Alongside writing, she is a teacher on the online learning platform Skillshare and hosts creativity retreats in the UK and all over the world. In 2018, she was in the Forbes 30 Under 30 List in Media. Her new novel Table for One was published in April 2025.
Jessica Pan is a features writer and freelance journalist whose writing has appeared in Guardian Weekend Magazine, Stylist, New York Magazine, Lenny Letter and more. She is the author of Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come: An Introvert’s Year of Living Dangerously (Transworld 2019). Her next non-fiction book is forthcoming from Transworld in 2027. She previously worked as a TV reporter and magazine editor in Beijing and now lives in London. Read about her musings from working at an indie bookshop in London on her Substack.
Book your spot here!
Book a 121 with an expert
Looking for tips on how to start writing, or struggling to decide what to read next? Curious about what an agent actually does? Want information on how to publicise your book or use social media as a writer? Don’t miss this unique opportunity to put your questions about writing, publishing and all things books to our friendly industry experts, from agents and editors, to marketing and publicity specialists. Book yours here.
121s are available with:
Lucy Pearson – Bibliotherapist
Jess Molloy – Literary Agent at Curtis Brown
Fran Owen and Mari Yamazaki – Publicists at Bloomsbury
Hannah Chuckwu – Editor at Dialogue Books
1 – 2pm | Fran Owen and Mari Yamazaki
Fran Owen and Mari Yamazaki are Publicity Directors (jobshare) at Bloomsbury, where they work across literary and commercial fiction and non-fiction, and lifestyle books and oversee authors such as Elizabeth Gilbert, Patti Smith and Edward Enninful. They were previously Publicity Directors at Vintage, PRH, for the Chatto & Windus, Square Peg and Hogarth imprints. There, they worked with authors such as Christie Watson, Diana Evans and Edmund de Waal. They are currently shortlisted for a Nibbie for the Best Publicity Campaign of the Year for Gillian Anderson’s Want (alongside Hayley Camis) and previously won in 2020 for Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments.
Come and talk to Fran and Mari about:
- What to expect from a publicist
- How to craft a PR angle around your profile or your writing
- What’s the best media for your book?
Slots available: 1-1.15pm; 1.15-1.30pm; 1.30-1.45pm; 1.45-2pm. Book here!
2 – 3 pm | Lucy Pearson – Bibliotherapist
Bibliotherapist Lucy Pearson an award-winning book blogger, bibliotherapist and library curator. In Lucy’s sessions she’ll be offering bibliotherapy to anyone looking to break out of a reading rut, diversify their reading choices or find books to help their well-being. Once you’ve booked the 1-2-1 session you will be contacted just to give us a short outline of about what aspect of your reading you’re looking for help with.
Slots available: 2-2.15pm; 2.15-2.30pm; 2.30-2.45pm; 2.45-3pm. Book here!
1 – 2pm | Jess Molloy – Literary Agent, Curtis Brown
This session is currently sold-out. Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to hear if any slots reopen.
Jess Molloy joined the literary department of Curtis Brown in October 2019 having previously worked in the talent and comedy department and within talent management for over eight years. She is an Agent in Cathryn Summerhayes’ office, co-agenting and assisting on Cathryn’s extensive and eclectic client list as well as building her own carefully curated list. She represents a mix of fiction and non-fiction authors including the Sunday Times Bestselling author Fern Brady, and winner of the Discoveries Prize 2022, Sui Annukka. She has particular interest in literary crime, fantasy, romance and speculative fiction.
Come and talk to Jess about:
- What an agent does
- Pitching your novel to agents
- How publishing works
Slots available: 3-3.15pm; 3.15-3:30pm; 3:30-3:45pm; 3.45-4pm.
4 – 5 pm | Hannah Chukwu – Publishing Director, Dialogue Books
This session is currently sold-out. Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to hear if any slots reopen.
Hannah Chukwu is an award-winning Publishing Director at Dialogue Books, where she leads the literary team publishing across fiction and non-fiction, with a focus on publishing underrepresented voices. Authors she publishes include bell hooks, Bora Chung and Yoko Tawada. Prior to joining Dialogue, she commissioned at Hamish Hamilton, PRH, where she also edited Five Dials magazine, founded the Black Britain: Writing Back series with Bernardine Evaristo, and was the Policy and Campaign Consultant for the curriculum change project Lit in Colour, in collaboration with the Runnymede Trust. She is a Trustee for the education charity The Brilliant Club.
Come about speak to Hannah about:
- What to expect from your editorial relationship
- How to ensure your novel draft is ready for submission
- How to break through writer’s block
Slots available: 4-4.15pm; 4.15-4.30pm; 4.30-4.45pm; 4.45-5pm.
*The Women’s Prize LIVE programme is now final, but due to circumstances outside of our control, some elements of the line-up may change. Please see the FAQs for more information.
