“Sadly, we had to let some very deserving books go, but we’re confident that we have chosen 16 stand-out novels that represent a truly wide and varied range of fiction by women that reflects multiple perspectives, narrative styles and preoccupations. These novels fascinated, moved, inspired and challenged us.”
Alongside Evaristo, this year’s team of judges is made up of podcaster, author and journalist Elizabeth Day; radio presenter, journalist and writer Vick Hope; print columnist and writer Nesrine Malik; and news presenter and broadcaster Sarah-Jane Mee.
Judges will now whittle the nominees down to a final shortlist of six books, to be announced on Wednesday, April 7, before the winner is revealed at a ceremony in London on Wednesday, July 7.