I’m delighted that the 2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction has been awarded to AM Homes for her novel May We Be Forgiven. Homes is a fantastic writer and arguably the most outspokenly experimental on that shortlist. This is wonderful news for women’s writing and for writing full stop.
I was interested and curious to notice the statistic that has been quoted though, about this being the fifth time in a row that the prize has been awarded to an American writer. The last British writer to win was Rose Tremain in 2008, with The Road Home.
Does this mean that it’s time for British writers to get more adventurous, to show their teeth and claws a little more?
It certainly wouldn’t do any harm if they did!