{"title":"The Women's Prize for Fiction 2026","description":"\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCelebrate the best in female creativity with the Women's Prize for Fiction! \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 2026 long and shortlisted titles showcases the force, scale and resonance of fiction, through all-encompassing prose about global events, intimate relationships and much more. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBrowse the Women's Prize for Fiction 2026: \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch6\u003e*Titles are listed based on availability. \u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003ch1\u003eFiction Longlist 2026\u003c\/h1\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"9781035404803","title":"The Best of Everything","description":"\u003cp\u003e**A 2025 Highlight in the Guardian, I-Paper, Prima, Irish Times, Irish Independent and Sunday Independent****A Bookseller '10 Titles Not to Miss' selection for April**'A profoundly compassionate novel of devastating power' Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-Winning author of Girl, Woman, Other 'So deeply moving: sad and beautiful and true' Annie Macmanus, author of The Mess We're In \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaulette's the kind of woman who likes the future all mapped out: the wedding to Denton, the Caribbean honeymoon, the gingham quilt on the baby's crib. Until one morning Garfield, Denton's friend, arrives at her door with the news that Denton won't be coming around any more, that there won't be time for her to say goodbye. Somehow Garfield finds his way into her bed, and sooner than anyone can believe there is a baby, and suddenly giving Bird, her son, the best of everything is what gives Paulette's life meaning. So why is it another little boy, Nellie, who keeps Paulette awake at night? Nellie who is being raised a few streets away, with no sign of a mum. Surely Paulette is the last person who should be getting tangled up in any of that? The Best of Everything is a novel about the love that can steal into our lives - in spite of the best laid plans.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kit de Waal","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52392196538686,"sku":"9781035404803","price":455.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4357\/7662\/files\/9781035404803.jpg?v=1761174917"},{"product_id":"9781911717324","title":"Audition","description":"\u003cp\u003e**SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2025**A GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, FINANCIAL TIMES, BBC, TIME, VOGUE, MARIE CLAIRE, ESQUIRE and ROLLING STONE BOOK TO READ IN 2025'Slick, sharp, strange and singular . . . You’ll gulp this novel down in one in-breath' SAMANTHA HARVEY, Booker Prize-winning author of Orbital 'A lightning bolt of a novel' FINANCIAL TIMES 'I’m not sure there’s anyone better writing in America today' ALEX PRESTON, Observer One woman, the performance of a lifetime. Or two. An exhilarating, destabilising novel that asks whether we ever really know the people we love Two people meet for lunch in a Manhattan restaurant. She’s an accomplished actress in rehearsals for an upcoming premiere. He’s attractive, troubling, young – young enough to be her son. Who is he to her, and who is she to him? In this compulsively readable, brilliantly constructed novel, two competing narratives unspool, rewriting our understanding of the roles we play every day – partner, parent, creator, muse – and the truths every performance masks, especially from those who think they know us most intimately. Taut and hypnotic, Audition is Katie Kitamura at her virtuosic best.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Katie Kitamura","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52392929263934,"sku":"9781911717324","price":520.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4357\/7662\/files\/9781911717324.jpg?v=1761176272"},{"product_id":"9780241721254","title":"The Correspondent","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe internationally bestselling word-of-mouth hit that thousands of readers are calling their favourite book of the year, The Correspondent is the story of one unforgettable woman, told through the letters that she sends. Over 30,000 five star reviews on Goodreads! 'THIS NOVEL IS A CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION' Ann Patchett 'I WAS DELIGHTED AND MOVED . . . MASTERFUL' New York Times 'I CAN'T PRAISE IT ENOUGH. AN ABSOLUTE TRIUMPH' Clare Chambers 'THIS NOVEL IS A COMPLETE AND UTTER JOY' Ann Napolitano'I CRIED MORE THAN ONCE . . . SHOWS US WHAT A GLORIOUS THING GROWING OLDER CAN BE' Florence Knapp ‘I DON'T HAVE ANY WORDS. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL STORY’ Reader review 'I THINK I'VE JUST FINISHED MY FAVOURITE BOOK OF THE YEAR' Reader review--\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery morning, Sybil Van Antwerp sits down to write letters – to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to attend a class she desperately wants to take, to her favourite authors to tell them what she thinks of their latest books. Because at seventy-three, Sybil has used her correspondence – witty and wise – to make sense of the world. But beyond the page, she has spent the last thirty years keeping the people who love her at arms’ length... Until letters from someone she had put out of her mind land on her doorstep, forcing her to reckon with her past mistakes. For as Sybil is about to learn: it’s never too late to write a few post-scripts. Funny, wry and bittersweet, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel about the power of connection and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime, told by one of the most memorable characters you will ever meet. Perfect for fans of Three Days in June, Olive Kitteridge and Tom Lake.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReaders love THE CORRESPONDENT' This is the book of the year!' 5 ⭐ reader review ‘This book touched my soul’ 5 ⭐ reader review 'Should be required reading' 5 ⭐ reader review 'Oh my heart. What a gem' 5 ⭐ reader review 'I found myself asking myself, “Is this the best book I’ve ever read?”' 5 ⭐ reader review 'Left a profound impact on me . . . explores the reflections that come with the choices we make and it does so with such grace and depth that it’s impossible not to be moved' 5 ⭐ reader review\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Virginia Evans","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52397007077694,"sku":"9780241721254","price":556.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4357\/7662\/files\/9780241721254.jpg?v=1761184260"},{"product_id":"9781838954970","title":"Moderation","description":"\u003cp\u003eSometimes people just...click. 'A highly charged, passionate and tender love story. Wonderful' Kaliane Bradley, author of The Ministry of Time 'Castillo is a literary firecracker... If you liked Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, you'll like this' Pandora Sykes, Books and Bits\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThirty-something Girlie Delmundo works a day job as a content moderator, flagging and removing the very worst that makes it on to the internet. She's one of the best at it, too - dispassionate, unflinching, maybe because she learned by necessity to wall off all her emotions when she was still a kid - so it's no surprise to anyone when the social-media company for which she works offers her a big salary rise and an office to start moderating its new venture: virtual-reality theme parks, lush and near-perfect simulations of civilizations long since dead.Girlie takes the job, and getting paid to spend her days wandering the crowds of medieval jousts or exploring romantic Left Bank Paris seems too good to be true. Almost. Sure, she signed up for having to deal with the sordidness of pretty much any virtual space, but as she begins to explore the intricate worlds that she moderates, she notices two deeply troubling things: that there might be something much darker built into the very code of the company, and that William, technically her new boss, a man whose barriers are as mighty as her own, might just be that long-forgotten thing... Girlie's type.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Elaine Castillo","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52402272502078,"sku":"9781838954970","price":0.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4357\/7662\/files\/9781838954970.jpg?v=1761194309"},{"product_id":"9781787335134","title":"Flashlight","description":"\u003cp\u003e**SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2025**'Ferociously smart and full of surprises' Eleanor Catton 'Instantly bewitching' Jennifer Egan 'A rich generational saga that teems with intelligence' Financial Times\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe astonishing story of one family swept up in the tides of the twentieth century, ranging from post-war Japan to suburban America and the North Korean regime. One evening, ten-year-old Louisa and her father take a walk out on the breakwater. They are spending the summer in a coastal Japanese town while her father Serk, a Korean émigré, completes an academic secondment from his American university. When Louisa wakes hours later, she has washed up on the beach and her father is missing, probably drowned. The disappearance of Louisa’s father shatters their small family unit. As Louisa and her American mother Anne return to the US, this traumatic event reverberates across time and space, and the mystery of what really happened to Serk slowly unravels. 'Excellent' Mark Haddon 'Big, bold and surprising' Guardian ‘Engrossing… Choi is an astute, convincing writer’ Sunday Telegraph 'Susan Choi is a master of rendering relationships with utter particularity' Raven Leilani, author of Luster 'I couldn’t put it down, and once I finished, I couldn’t stop thinking about it' Barbara Demick, author of Nothing to Envy\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Susan Choi","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52402468258110,"sku":"9781787335134","price":405.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4357\/7662\/files\/9781787335134.jpg?v=1761194652"},{"product_id":"9781398551657","title":"A Guardian and a Thief","description":"\u003cp\u003eOPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICKSHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTIONFINALIST FOR THE KIRKUS PRIZE Megha Majumdar’s electrifying new novel, following her acclaimed New York Times Bestseller A Burning—longlisted for the National Book Award—is set in a near-future Kolkata, India, ravaged by climate change and food scarcity, in which two families seeking to protect their children must battle each other—a piercing and propulsive tour de force. In a near-future Kolkata beset by flooding and famine, Ma, her two-year-old daughter Mishti, and her elderly father Dadu are just days from leaving the collapsing city behind to join Ma’s husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After procuring long-awaited visas from the consulate, they pack their bags for the flight to America. But in the morning they awaken to discover that Ma’s purse, with all the treasured immigration documents within it, has been stolen. Set over the course of one week, A Guardian and a Thief tells two stories: the story of Ma’s frantic search for the thief while keeping hunger at bay during a worsening food shortage; and the story of Boomba, the thief, whose desperation to care for his family drives him to commit a series of escalating crimes whose consequences he cannot fathom. With stunning control and command, Megha Majumdar paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of two families, each operating from a place of ferocious love and undefeated hope, each discovering how far they will go to secure their children’s future as they stave off encroaching catastrophe. A masterful new work from one of the most exciting voices of her generation. ‘A true literary achievement… Majumdar creates a tense and deeply compassionate portrait of desperation, fear and the combined selflessness and selfishness of parenthood… Detail is the strongest thing in A Guardian and a Thief. It conveys the nuances of not only love but also wisdom… a true joy to read.’ New York Times \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Megha Majumdar","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52421259657534,"sku":"9781398551657","price":455.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4357\/7662\/files\/9781398551657.jpg?v=1761227148"},{"product_id":"9781837265589","title":"Heart the Lover","description":"\u003cp\u003e'You knew I'd write a book about you someday' Our narrator understands good love stories - their secrets, their highs and free falls. But her greatest love story, the one she lived, never followed the rules. She was in her senior year of college when star students Sam and Yash swept her into an intoxicating world of academic fervour, rapid-fire banter and raucous card games. Their lives became quickly intertwined - with friendship but also with unpredictable passions and the intimations of first love. Decades later, she is a successful writer, living a comfortable life with her husband and children, when a surprise visit brings the past crashing into the present, forcing her to confront the decisions and deceptions of her youth. Written with the precision of poetry and the emotional tide of an epic, Heart the Lover is a celebration of literature and the life-long echoes of young love. This is King at her very best, affirming her as a masterful chronicler of the human experience and one of the finest novelists at work today.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lily King","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52421474156862,"sku":"9781837265589","price":490.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4357\/7662\/files\/9781837265589.jpg?v=1761227572"},{"product_id":"9781837265923","title":"Wild Dark Shore","description":"\u003cp\u003eTHE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'Breathtaking' HANNAH KENT 'Spellbinding' Washington Post' A wildly talented writer' EMILY ST JOHN MANDELA family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A storm gathering force. Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny weather-lashed island that is home to the world's largest seed bank. As Shearwater risks being lost to rising sea levels, the island's researchers have fled, and only the Salts remain. Until, during the worst storm in living memory, a stranger washes ashore. The family nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, but it seems she isn't telling the whole truth about why she's there. And when Rowan stumbles upon sabotaged radios and a recently dug grave, she realises that she's not the only one on the island with a secret. A novel of breathtaking twists and dizzying beauty, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Charlotte McConaghy","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52424515060030,"sku":"9781837265923","price":310.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4357\/7662\/files\/9781837265923.jpg?v=1761233436"}],"url":"https:\/\/exclusivebooks.co.za\/collections\/the-womens-prize-for-fiction-2026-longlist.oembed","provider":"Exclusive Books Online","version":"1.0","type":"link"}