Virginia Evans wins Women’s Prize for Fiction with “The Correspondent”

A jury president Julia Gillard described the work as “an impressive novel, with an exemplary combination of originality, excellence and accessibility”.

“ This is a novel that captured our hearts, and that should be read and tasted by everyone,” Gillard added.

“Flashlight”, by Susan Choi, “Dominion”, by Addie E. Citchens, “The Correspondent”, by Virginia Evans, “The Mercy Step”, by Marcia Hutchinson, “Kingfisher”, by Rozie Kelly, and “Heart the Lover”, by Lily King, were the six finalist novels.

Of these authors, only Susan Choi and Lily King already have other works published, the latter with two novels edited in Portugal: “The father of rain” and “Writers and Loves”.

Among the works candidates for Women’s Prize for Fiction, only Virginia Evans’s is available in the Portuguese book market, entitled “A Correspondente”, edited in January this year by Casa das Letras.

Created in 1996, the Women’s Prize for Fiction annually distinguishes the author from a book published in the United Kingdom, having released in 2024 a category of nonfiction.

Last year, the distinguished novel was “The Guardian”, by Dutch-Israelite writer Yael van der Wouden.

The winner of the award in the nonfiction category was journalist Lyse Doucet, for the work “The Finest Hotel in Kabul – A People’s History of Afghanistan”.