Lisa Allen-Agostini’s adult fiction debut and the 23rd novel of Trinidadian standup comedian Lisa Allen -Agostini were also named as finalists.
Erdrich’s “The Sentence”, set in a haunted Minneapolis bookshop, and Allen-Agostini’s Caribbean story about gender violence and liberation called “The Bread the Devil Knead,” are among six books on the shortlist for the prestigious British prize.
The finalists include Meg Mason, a New Zealand author who wrote “Sorrow and Bliss”, a humorous novel about love and mental illnesses; Ruth Ozeki, a U.S.-Canadian writer and bibliophilic novel; Elif Shafak, a Turkish-British author whose love story is set in Cyprus; Maggie Shipstead’s “Great Circle,” which tells the story of a female aviator and her legacy.
The prize was established in 1996 and is open to all female English-language writers around the globe. Past winners include Maggie O’Farrell, Tayari Jones, and Zadie Smith. Susanna Clarke’s literary fantasy “Piranesi” was last year’s winner.
A jury headed by Mary Ann Sieghart, a British journalist, will choose the winner of the 2022 Women’s Prize. The announcement will be made June 15th at a ceremony held in London.
