Comedian Sara Pascoe’s debut novel, Weirdo, has won a new literary prize, the Jilly Cooper Award, at the annual Comedy Women In Print (CWIP) awards ceremony, per chortle.co.uk.
The accolade is a new addition to the prizes, established in honour of the late author Jilly Cooper, who passed away last month at the age of 88.
Organisers praised Pascoe’s novel, describing it as “a daring, candid look at a young woman lurching through life [that] combines comedic set pieces with real pathos – even when played for laughs. We know that Jilly would approve.”
The Best Published Novel award went to Nussaibah Younis for Fundamentally, a story about a queer Muslim academic deradicalising Isis brides.
Younis, an academic and former UN peace-building consultant, was the unanimous choice of the judging panel, which included comedian Kerry Godliman, actor Ingrid Oliver, and journalist Ranvir Singh. The judges called her book “an hilarious and unflinching, modern British novel which questions faith with razor-sharp humour, exploring sexuality and desire.”
The runner-up in this category was Holly Gramazio’s Husbands, a sharp satire on the commitment-phobic Tinder generation.
Helen Lederer, comedian and founder of the CWIP prizes, highlighted the boldness of the winning books.
“What unites all these novels is that these are brave modern voices questioning key issues – marriage, religion, sexual desire, ageing, weirdness – with wit and warmth,” Lederer said. “No topic, it seems, is too dangerous to debate in female comic fiction. The confidence and daring is off the scale.”
She added that the winning novel, Fundamentally, felt like a “contender for today’s great modern British novel. Proof, if any were needed, that intelligent audacious female writing wins out.”
In the honorary categories, Gavin and Stacey star Alison Steadman won the ‘Witty Impact’ award, and Tameka Empson took home the ‘Game-Changer’ award.
Unpublished Novel Award: The winner was Natalie Willbe for Music For The Samosa Generation, which secured her a publishing deal with Hera Books. The novel explores intergenerational relationships and balancing love and duty.
Self-Published Category: Awarded for the first time, this prize went to Ruth Foster for A Perfect Year, described as “a brilliantly hilarious study of one-upmanship.”
CWIP Commendation for Comedic Culture: This was awarded to Dara Lutes for Generation X.L
•Featured image: Sara Pascoe/© Rachel Sherlock
