2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction judging panel (Sam Holden/PA)Monica Ali and Suzannah Lipscomb have been unveiled as the chairs of the judging panels for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction and the inaugural Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, respectively.
Ali, a Booker Prize-nominated author, will lead the esteemed fiction prize panel, including judges Ayobami Adebayo, Indira Varma, Laura Dockrill and Anna Whitehouse. The longlist for the fiction prize is scheduled for release on March 5, with the shortlist following on April 24.
In contrast, historian, author and broadcaster Lipscomb will helm the inaugural Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, joined by Anne Sebba, Kamila Shamsie, Nicola Rollock and Venetia La Manna. The non-fiction longlist is set to be published on February 15, with the shortlist following on March 27.
Both prizes, fiction and non-fiction, will award the winners £30,000 and unique sculptures. The Fiction Prize winner will receive the Bessie, a statuette designed by the late Grizel Niven, while the Non-Fiction Prize will feature a specially commissioned sculpture named the Charlotte, with the artist’s announcement slated for January 2024.
Suzannah Lipscomb emphasised the importance of the new non-fiction prize, stressing the need to recognise women as experts in various fields. She expressed the necessity of providing a platform for women’s perspectives on science, history, and the world at large.
Monica Ali, known for her novel Brick Lane, acknowledged that women’s voices and their contributions to literature are not always given equal recognition. She highlighted the ongoing need for a dedicated prize to uplift women writers and their work. The winners for both prizes will be revealed on June 13, marking another year of celebrating outstanding women authors.
