Longlisted for the Women's Prize For Fiction 2023

A masterpiece in storytelling from the global bestselling author of Unsheltered and Flight Behaviour.SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZETHE MULTI-MILLION COPY SELLING AUTHORBOOK AT BEDTIME ON BBC RADIO 4AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICKWITH OVER 22,000 5* REVIEWS'Extraordinary.' OPRAH'She means to save us by telling us stories. . . She comes closer than anyone else I know.' ANN PATCHETT'Electrifying. . . Every sentence here sizzles.' Daily Mail'It's EPIC. Righteously angry, DEEPLY moving and exquisitely written.' MARIAN KEYES'A powerful tale.' Good Housekeeping'A fantastic read.' EMILY MAITLIS'A masterclass.' RICHARD POWERSDemon Copperhead is a once-in-a-generation novel that breaks and mends your heart in the way only the best fiction can.Demon's story begins with his traumatic birth to a single mother in a single-wide trailer, looking 'like a little blue prizefighter.' For the life ahead of him he would need all of that fighting spirit, along with buckets of charm, a quick wit, and some unexpected talents, legal and otherwise.In the southern Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, poverty isn't an idea, it's as natural as the grass grows. For a generation growing up in this world, at the heart of the modern opioid crisis, addiction isn't an abstraction, it's neighbours, parents, and friends. 'Family' could mean love, or reluctant foster care. For Demon, born on the wrong side of luck, the affection and safety he craves is as remote as the ocean he dreams of seeing one day. The wonder is in how far he's willing to travel to try and get there.Suffused with truth, anger and compassion, Demon Copperhead is an epic tale of love, loss and everything in between.'Legit about to get an 'I'd rather be reading Demon Copperhead' sticker for my Nissan Murano.' ROB DELANEYWhat readers are saying:***** 'An amazing, beautifully written story I cannot wait to recommend to everyone I know.' ***** 'Powerful and brilliant. To immerse yourself in a Kingsolver novel is to put yourself in the hands of a master.' ***** 'A must read and heart-opening book.' ***** 'Raw, angry, starkly beautiful. . . Genuinely one of the best books I've ever read.'***** 'Amazingly complex. . . [Kingsolver] is, by far, one of the greatest living authors'

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Bestselling author Laline Paull returns with an immersive and transformative new novel of an ocean world - its extraordinary creatures, mysteries, and mythologies - that is increasingly haunted by the cruelty and ignorance of the human race.Ea has always felt like an outsider. She suffers from a type of deafness that means she cannot master the spinning rituals that unite her pod of spinner dolphins. When catastrophe befalls her family and Ea feels she is partly to blame, she decides to make the ultimate sacrifice and leave.As Ea ventures into the vast, she discovers dangers everywhere, from lurking predators to strange objects floating in the water. But just as she is coming to terms with her solitude, a chance encounter with a group of arrogant bottlenoses will irrevocably alter the course of her life.In her terrifying, propulsive novel, Laline Paull explores the true meaning of family, belonging, sacrifice - the harmony and tragedy of the pod - within an ocean that is no longer the sanctuary it once was, and which reflects a world all too recognisable to our own.PRAISE FOR THE BEES 'Beautifully written and unusual . . . A brave and original story that highlights our modern environmental crimes, and offers a fascinating glimpse into the intricacies of bee world' Sunday Times 'One wild ride. A sensual, visceral mini-epic about timeless rituals and modern environmental disaster. Paull's heart-pounding novel wrenches us into a new world' Emma Donoghue '[A] gripping Cinderella/Arthurian tale with lush Keatsian adjectives' Margaret Atwood 'An extraordinary feat of imagination' Madeline Miller

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'I thought I had made myself clear. I want something that conveys her majesty, her bloodline. Do you understand? She is no ordinary mortal. Treat her thus.'Florence, the 1560s. Lucrezia, third daughter of Cosimo de' Medici, is free to wander the palazzo at will, wondering at its treasures and observing its clandestine workings. But when her older sister dies on the eve of marriage to Alfonso d'Este, ruler of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Lucrezia is thrust unwittingly into the limelight: the duke is quick to request her hand in marriage, and her father to accept on her behalf.Having barely left girlhood, Lucrezia must now make her way in a troubled court whose customs are opaque and where her arrival is not universally welcomed. Perhaps most mystifying of all is her husband himself, Alfonso. Is he the playful sophisticate her appears before their wedding, the aesthete happiest in the company of artists and musicians, or the ruthless politician before whom even his formidable sisters seem to tremble? As Lucrezia sits in uncomfortable finery for the painting which is to preserve her image for centuries to come, one thing becomes worryingly clear. In the court's eyes, she has one duty: to provide the heir who will shore up the future of the Ferrarese dynasty. Until then, for all of her rank and nobility, her future hangs entirely in the balance.

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** Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2023 **In Stone Blind, the instant Sunday Times bestseller, Natalie Haynes brings the infamous Medusa to life as you have never seen her before.'Witty, gripping, ruthless' - Margaret Atwood via Twitter'Beautiful and moving' - Neil Gaiman via Twitter'So to mortal men, we are monsters. Because of our flight, our strength. They fear us, so they call us monsters.’Medusa is the sole mortal in a family of gods. Growing up with her Gorgon sisters, she begins to realize that she is the only one who experiences change, the only one who can be hurt. And her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know.When the sea god Poseidon commits an unforgivable act in the temple of Athene, the goddess takes her revenge where she can – and Medusa is changed forever. Writhing snakes replace her hair, and her gaze now turns any living creature to stone. The power cannot be controlled: Medusa can look at nothing without destroying it. She is condemned to a life of shadows and darkness.Until Perseus embarks upon a quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon . . .Praise for Natalie Haynes, the Women’s Prize-shortlisted author of A Thousand Ships:‘With her trademark passion, wit, and fierce feminism… her thoughtful portraits will linger with you long after the book is finished’ - Madeline Miller, author of The Song of Achilles and Circe‘Haynes combines a wide-ranging knowledge of the original myths with a gift for compelling narrative’ - The Times‘Natalie Haynes is both a witty and an erudite guide. She wears her extensive learning lightly and deftly drags the Classics into the modern world’ - Kate Atkinson, author of Life After Life‘Haynes is master of her trade . . . She succeeds in breathing warm life into some of our oldest stories’ - Telegraph‘Haynes is the nation’s greatest muse’ - Adam Rutherford

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LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PRIZE 2023SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS BOOK OF THE YEAR (DISCOVER) 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE REPUBLIC OF CONSCIOUSNESS PRIZE 2023 LONGLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2023 AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVEL OF 2022I'M A FAN tells the story of an unnamed narrator's involvement in a seemingly unequal romantic relationship. With a clear and unforgiving eye, Sheena Patel makes startling connections between power struggles at the heart of human relationships to those in the wider world, offering a devastating critique of social media, access and patriarchal systems.

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*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2023* Immerse yourself in an electric story of dub reggae, love, loss and Black womanhood.He takes my hand, pulls me to him. 'This is our dancing time.''I was blown away by Fire Rush ... Mesmerising, imaginative and incantatory' Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of Girl, Woman, OtherYamaye lives for the weekend, when she can go raving with her friends at The Crypt, an underground club in the industrial town on the outskirts of London. A young woman unsure of her future, the sound is her guide - a chance to discover who she really is in the rhythms of those smoke-filled nights. In the dance-hall darkness, dub is the music of her soul, her friendships, her ancestry.But everything changes when she meets Moose, the man she falls deeply in love with, and who offers her the chance of freedom and escape.When their relationship is brutally cut short, Yamaye goes on a dramatic journey of transformation where past and present collide with explosive consequences.'Wrought with an incredible precision and a musicality which carries every sentence' Caleb Azumah Nelson, author of Open Water*AN OBSERVER TOP TEN NEW NOVEL 2023*5* READER REVIEWS:'This novel takes you on an emotional and unforgettable journey''This book has it all ... You're immersed into something really special''A stunning debut novel... as relevant to today's racial climate as the 1970s... it felt musical, with dub music almost a secondary character in the novel'

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*THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER*LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTIONSHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE'A rhapsodic hymn to Black women' New York Times Book Review'Epic yet intimate' Cosmopolitan'Ferocious and compassionate' Irish TimesFAMILY CAN HOLD YOU TOGETHER. AND TEAR YOU APART.Joan was only a child the last time she visited Memphis. She doesn't remember the bustle of Beale Street or the smell of honeysuckle as she climbs the porch steps to her aunt's house. But when the front door opens, she does remember her cousin Derek. As Joan learns more about her family's past she discovers she's not the only North woman to have experienced great hurt. But she also sees their resilience and courage, how these extraordinary women fry green tomatoes and braid hair and sing all the while.Joan can't change the past, but she can change her future. It's time to find her own song to sing.**** READERS LOVE MEMPHIS ****'I couldn't put it down. You will fall in love with these women''One of the best books I've ever read''Utterly spellbinding''This book has my entire heart''It felt so real - I cried at their pain and smiled at their joy''Intricately plotted, wildly satisfying''Epic, in every sense of the word. It completely blew me away'

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**LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE 2023****SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2022**An exhilarating Animal Farm-inspired novel about power and corruption set in an animal nation trapped in a cycle as old as time, by one of the most exciting voices writing today.'Bulawayo is really out-Orwelling Orwell. This is a satire with sharper teeth, angrier, and also very, very funny'New York Times Book ReviewNarrated by a vivid chorus of animal voices that unveil the tyranny and ruthlessness required to uphold absolute power, Glory is the tale of an uprising and a country's implosion. And at the centre of it all, a young goat named Destiny, returning home to bear witness to a revolution.Urgent, wild, dazzling with life and an irrepressible wit, Glory is a razor-sharp satire that unpicks power and shows how history can be halted in a moment.'Glory is a masterpiece for our times. Gripping and exhilarating' Observer** SHORTLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2023****SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 VISIONARY ARTS AWARDS**

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GRANTA BEST OF YOUNG BRITISH NOVELISTS 2023From the Booker Prize-nominated author of The Water Cure comes a chilling new feminist fable based on the true story of an unsolved mystery...A recommended read for 2023 in The Times, Guardian, Irish Times, Scotsman, iD, Good Housekeeping, Big Issue and Our Culture'A shimmering fever-dream of a novel' Telegraph'A dreamy sapphic romp' The Times'Gauzy [and] gripping, a quietly rich maturation of Mackintosh's skill' GuardianIf you eat the bread, you'll die, he said. The statement made no sense, but it filled me with an electric dread.Elodie is the baker's wife. A plain, unremarkable woman, ignored by her husband and underestimated by her neighbours, she burns with the secret desire to be extraordinary. One day a charismatic new couple appear in town - the ambassador and his sharp-toothed wife, Violet - and Elodie quickly falls under their spell. All summer long she stalks them through the shining streets: inviting herself into their home, eavesdropping on their coded conversations, longing to be part of their world.Meanwhile, beneath the tranquil surface of daily life, strange things are happening. Six horses are found dead in a sun-drenched field, laid out neatly on the ground like an offering. Widows see their lost husbands walking up the moonlit river, coming back to claim them. A teenage boy throws himself into the bonfire at the midsummer feast. A dark intoxication is spreading through the town, and when Elodie finally understands her role in it, it will be too late to stop.Audacious and mesmerising, Cursed Bread is a fevered confession, an entry into memory's hall of mirrors, a fable of obsession and transformation. Sophie Mackintosh spins a darkly gleaming tale of a town gripped by hysteria, envy like poison in the blood, and desire that burns and consumes.

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Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2023A BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick 2023'Not since Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger has the rotten core of modern India been exposed in quite such blackly antic fashion as Parini Shroff manages here in this intermittently absurd, feminist revenge caper about a group of snarky, much-abused, predominantly Hindu wives...sheer gutsy verve.' The Times'A darkly funny revenge drama rooted in the reality of rural India . . . [A] vivid, unsentimental story that succeeds in being both satirical and moving.' Guardian'A radically feel-good story about the murder of no-good husbands by a cast of unsinkable women' - New York TimesFor Geeta, life as a widow is more peaceful than life as a wife...Until the other women in her village decide they want to be widows, too.Geeta is believed to have killed her vanished husband - a rumour she hasn't bothered trying to correct, because a reputation like that can keep a single woman safe in rural India. But when she's approached for help in ridding another wife of her abusive drunk of a husband, her reluctant agreement sets in motion a chain of events that will change the lives of all the women in the village....A darkly irreverent and fresh take on a feminist revenge thriller, perfect for readers of My Sister the Serial Killer, How To Kidnap The Rich and the Sharon Horgan series Bad Sisters.'Tender, unpredictable, brimming with laugh-out-loud moments' Téa Obreht, author of THE TIGER'S WIFE'Original, memorable, and endearing' Charmaine Wilkerson, author of BLACK CAKE'A rollicking mash-up of adventure story, thriller, dark revenge, and comedy' Cristina García, author of DREAMING IN CUBAN

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'Festers in glorious style' Telegraph'Magnificently spiky' Guardian'Utterly enthralling' Times Literary Supplement When Holly applies for a job at the Paradise - one of the city's oldest cinemas, squashed into the ground floor of a block of flats - she thinks it will be like any other shift work. She cleans toilets, sweeps popcorn, avoids the belligerent old owner, Iris, and is ignored by her aloof but tight-knit colleagues who seem as much a part of the building as its fraying carpets and endless dirt. Dreadful, lonely weeks pass while she longs for their approval, a silent voyeur. So when she finally gains the trust of this cryptic band of oddballs, Holly transforms from silent drudge to rebellious insider and gradually she too becomes part of the Paradise - unearthing its secrets, learning its history and haunting its corridors after hours with the other ushers. It is no surprise when violence strikes, tempers change and the group, eyes still affixed to the screen, starts to rapidly go awry...

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Women's Prize for Fiction 2023 FinalistThe coming of age story of an award-winning translator, Homesick is about learning to love language in its many forms, healing through words and the promises and perils of empathy and sisterhood.Sisters Amy and Zoe grow up in Oklahoma where they are homeschooled for an unexpected reason: Zoe suffers from debilitating and mysterious seizures, spending her childhood in hospitals as she undergoes surgeries. Meanwhile, Amy flourishes intellectually, showing an innate ability to glean a world beyond the troubles in her home life, exploring that world through languages first. Amy's first love appears in the form of her Russian tutor Sasha, but when she enters university at the age of 15 her life changes drastically and with tragic results."Croft moves quickly between powerful scenes that made me think about my own sisters. I love how the language displays a child's consciousness. A haunting accomplishment." Kali Fajardo-Anstine

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