Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020: Longlist predictions

It’s my favourite bookish time of the year! I have been looking forward to Women’s Prize season pretty much since last summer – and I have, again, spent a ridiculous amount of time thinking about the possible longlist. Last year, I correctly predicted two books on the longlist, so it can probably only get better from here.

I am attempting to read the longlist (something I did not completely manage last year) with my wonderful group chat (of those lovely people, Emily is the only one to have posted a prediction post already). I do hope to have better luck than last year where I did not love nearly as many of the longlisted books as I hoped (and where my two favourite books were ones I had read before). But even if I end up hating most books, I am still beyond thrilled to be doing this again. This time I am aiming to finish the longlist before the short list is announced; I’ll be on leave from work from the middle of April onwards and I have the week of the longlist announcement off, so chances are actually decent that I manage this (she says, having finished two books in February so far).

The Fire Starters by Jan Carson

Because The Troubles are on everybody’s minds with Brexit. Also, Rachel loved this and her taste in Irish lit is impeccable.

Longlisted before: No.

Would I be happy to see it: Yes!

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

This seems like the book club choice – and one of those always makes the list. This also deals with currently relevant topics and the publisher has been hyping this up for months – which indicates to me that they likely submitted the book to be considered for the longlist.

Longlisted before: No.

Would I be happy to see it: Eh. (to be fair, the reviews are glowing, so maybe I would love it after all.)

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo

I would riot if it didn’t make it. The book is not only incredible, given the shared booker win I want Evaristo to have this.

Longlisted before: Yes.

Would I be happy to see it: YES!

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

Super hyped and apparently brilliant it also focusses a woman’s story in an interesting way.

Longlisted before: No.

Would I be happy to see it: Yes.

Girl by Edna O’Brien

This seems like it might make the list (timely topic, previously longlisted Irish novelist) but I am actually dreading having to read it. I am not often in the mood to read books that focus something this atrocious – and this does not sound like something I would enjoy at all.

Longlisted before: Yes.

Would I be happy to see it: God, no.

The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel

Duh.

Longlisted before: Yes.

Would I be happy to see it: I think it would be awesome to see Mantel longlisted again but I have already decided not to read it – I have not read the previous, super long books in the series and I do not get on with historical fiction.

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

Historical fiction often dominates the longlist and this one, from an acclaimed author, sounds like a very Women’s Prize-y book to me (shining a light on a woman weirdly absent from history).

Longlisted before: No.

Would I be happy to see it: Actually, mostly yes. Am I looking forward to reading a book about the loss of a child while highly pregnant? Not particularly. But it also sounds like something that could be really, really brilliant.

Strange Hotel by Eimear McBride

So far, every single book McBride has written was longlisted (ok, she has only written two before this one) and she also won before. I also selfishly really, really want to read this.

Longlisted before: Yes.

Would I be happy to see it: Very, very much so.

Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha

This seems topical in a way not all my other choices are: a fictionalized account of a real life crime and the repercussions felt decades later, with flavours of the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

Longlisted before: No.

Would I be happy to see it: Yes and no. It sounds like a good book to include but again not like one that I would love.

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

This has gotten praise from basically everyone, it is a family story dealing with social issues, and it was written by an acclaimed American author.

Longlisted before: No.

Would I be happy to see it: Yes. Give me all the books about motherhood!

Trust Exercise by Susan Choi

This won the National Book Award last year but the reviews have been all over the place. I would love for it to make the longlist so that I don’t have to decide whether to read it or not.

Longlisted before: No.

Would I be happy to see it: Yes.

Olive Again by Elizabeth Strout

One of the eligible ‘notable literary sequels’, this is the one I would most love to see on the list. I really really enjoy Strout’s writing and want to read more of her books. I wouldn’t even be mad at having to read Olive Kitterige first.

Longlisted before: Yes (3 times!).

Would I be happy to see it: Yes!

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

Another mostly selfish prediction, I just really want an excuse to buy this book. Erdrich is one of those authors that intimidate me but that I do think I could adore beyond reason.

Longlisted before: No (I was surprised).

Would I be happy to see it: Yes!

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara

Basically gut-feeling – but the mix of thriller elements with a literary setting makes this a likely contender.

Longlisted before: No.

Would I be happy to see it: Mostly.

Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips

Another book combining a thriller set-up with a more literary style, this is a book I would be very glad to see on the longlist. Its mostly positive critical reception and visibility in the literary landscape makes this a likely debut to be successful.

Longlisted before: No.

Would I be happy to see it: Very.

The Farm by Joanne Ramos

There is usually at least on book on the longlist that sits under the speculative fiction umbrella – and a dystopian novel dealing the commodification of motherhood seems like an obvious fit.

Longlisted before: No.

Would I be happy to see it: Yes and no (yay, a book about pregnancy, oh no, a dystopian novel).

There you have it, my official predictions. I am not convinced the longlist will be 16 books long – before this year I was under the impression that this is kind of the official Women’s Prize longlist length – but there have been plenty of years with 20 books longlisted. You will have noticed that I left off a few obvious contenders: The Testaments by Margaret Atwood and Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann seem like obvious choices – but I do not think Atwood will let her book be submitted given the reactions to the double Booker win and Ellmann’s publisher has been very upfront how difficult the financial burden on smaller publishers is. Some other books I could imagine making it are Long Bright River by Liz Moore, The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy, A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes, and Weather by Jenny Offill, all books that I would be very happy to see longlisted but that for some reason or other did not make my list of 16 (if we have a longlist of 20 this year, these four are my official additional predictions).