O’Farrell wins 2020 Women’s Prize for ‘Hamnet’

UK author Maggie O’Farrell has won the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction for her novel Hamnet (Tinder Press).

Chosen from a shortlist of six and a longlist of 16, Hamnet is inspired by the life and death of Shakespeare’s only son.

Chair of judges Martha Lane Fox said: ‘The euphoria of being in the same room for the final judging meeting was quickly eclipsed by the excitement we all feel about this exceptional winner. Hamnet, while set long ago, like all truly great novels expresses something profound about the human experience that seems both extraordinarily current and at the same time, enduring.’

The £30,000 (A$53,600) prize is presented annually to the best novel of the year written in English by a woman. To celebrate the prize’s 25th anniversary, readers are participating in a public vote on the ‘winner of winners’ to be revealed in November.

The recipient of last year’s prize was American writer Tayari Jones for her novel An American Marriage (Vintage).

For more information about the award, see the website.

Category: Awards International news