Two Irish authors among those longlisted for Women's Prize Fiction award

Author of The Benefactors, Wendy Erskine and author of The Best of Everything, Kit de Waal.

Two Irish authors have been included in this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist – a celebration of female creativity.

The Women’s Prize Trust, the charity building a better future by championing women’s writing, announced the longlist ahead of International Women’s Day, which includes Irish authors Wendy Erskine and Kit de Waal.

Wendy Erskine made the longlist for her novel The Benefactors and Kit de Waal secured her place on the list for her novel The Best of Everything.

The longlist, which reflects the Women’s Prize Trust’s belief that every woman’s voice has the power to elicit and inspire positive change, includes 16 titles – nine from independent publishers and seven debuts – exploring everything from tackling turbulent global issues, such as climate change and displacement, to examining the intensely intimate.

Author of The Benefactors, Wendy Erskine. Picture: The Women’s Prize Trust.

In The Benefactors, Belfast novelist Wendy Erskine presents a daring, polyphonic and intelligent representation of modern-day Northern Ireland through the stories of three Belfast mothers to 18-year-old boys, exploring class, money, and what it ultimately means to be a parent.

The Best of Everything by Irish-British-Caribbean author Kit de Waal tells the story of a working-class Caribbean woman living in Birmingham between the 1970s and 1990s: a personal, tender celebration of found families, and the life-changing power of kindness and love in the face of grief and loneliness.

Author of The Best of Everything, Kit de Waal. Picture: The Women’s Prize Trust.

Both authors will be hoping to make the shortlist, announced on April 22, and go on to win £30,000 (€34,446) and a statuette known as the ‘Bessie’, created and donated by the late artist Grizel Niven.

Chair of Judges and former Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, said: “Across a longlist that is international in both scope and setting, these sixteen books masterfully demonstrate the power of fiction to examine the messy business of being human.

“From climate change to artificial intelligence, they navigate the issues of our time with urgency and purpose, they immerse us in environments and experiences that are sometimes like our own, but more often are radically different, and they explore identities and perspectives that are often ignored or forgotten, amidst those inherently universal and recognisable.

“Spotlighting both emerging novelists and small, independent publishers, my fellow judges and I are proud to share a list that so wonderfully reflects the thriving creativity of contemporary women authors, as well as the crucial work of the Women’s Prize Trust in bringing unheard voices to the fore. It is truly a treasure trove for readers, and we offer our heartfelt congratulations to all the nominated writers.” 

The 16 longlist titles include:

• Gloria Don’t Speak by Lucy Apps (Weatherglass Books) 
• Paradiso 17 by Hannah Lillith Assadi (4th Estate, HarperCollins Publishers UK) 
• Moderation by Elaine Castillo (Atlantic Books) 
• Flashlight by Susan Choi (Jonathan Cape, Vintage, Penguin Random House UK) 
• Dominion by Addie E. Citchens (Europa Editions UK) 
• The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine (Sceptre, Hodder & Stoughton, Hachette UK) 
• The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House UK) 
• The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson (Cassava Republic Press) 
• The Others by Sheena Kalayil (Fly on the Wall Press) 
• Kingfisher by Rozie Kelly (Saraband) 
• Heart the Lover by Lily King (Canongate) 
• Audition by Katie Kitamura (Fern Press, Vintage, Penguin Random House UK) 
• A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar (Scribner, Simon & Schuster UK) 
• Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (Canongate) 
• The Best of Everything by Kit de Waal (Tinder Press, Headline Publishing Group, Hachette UK) 
• A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang (Dead Ink) 

The 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction shortlist will be announced on March 25 and the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist will be announced on April 22, with the winners of both prizes to be revealed on June 11.