Anne Enright's "The Wren, The Wren" and Claire Kilroy's "Soldier, Sailor" have been included in a six-book shortlist for the prestigious Women's Prize for Fiction.
The prize is awarded to the female author of a full-length novel written in English and published in the UK, with the winner taking home £30,000 and "Bessie," a bronze statuette created by artist Grizel Niven.
Enright's "The Wren, The Wren" follows three generations of women in the McDaragh family, exploring the inheritance of trauma, love, and wonder.
Meanwhile, Kilroy's "Soldier, Sailor" is an immersive dive into the chaos and horrors of early motherhood.
V. V. Ganeshananthan's "Brotherless Night," Kate Grenville's "Restless Dolly Maunder," Isabella Hammad's "Enter Ghost," and Aube Rey Lescure's "River East, River West" have been nominated alongside Enright and Kilroy for the 2024 award.
The Women's Prize for Fiction described the novels shortlisted for the 2024 award as "encompassing stories that focus on intimate family relationships, as well as those that convey a broader view of history, always with an eye on the particularity of women's experience."
The 2024 judging panel is chaired by author Monica Ali, who is joined by author Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀; author and illustrator Laura Dockrill; actor Indira Varma; and presenter and author Anna Whitehouse.
Ali said the 2024 shortlist consists of "brilliant, thought-provoking, and spellbinding novels."
"Readers will be captivated by the characters, the luminous writing and the exquisite storytelling. Each book is gloriously compelling and inventive and lingers in the heart and mind long after the final page," Ali said in a statement.
The Women's Prize for Fiction was first established in 1996 to "highlight and remedy the imbalance in coverage, respect and reverence given to women writers versus their male peers."
Founders of the award state that the prize creates a platform allowing "exceptional writing by women to shine."
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