Diana Evans & Oyinkan Braithwaite Are Finalists For The 2019 Women’s Prize For Fiction

Back in March, three Nigerian authors — Oyinkan Braithwaite, Akwaeke Emezi and Diana Evans — made the longlist for the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction.

The longlist has finally been narrowed down, and the final shortlist includes Oyinkan Braithwaite for My Sister, the Serial Killer and Diana Evans for Ordinary People, making them the fifth and sixth Africans to be finalists for the prestigious prize.

Diana Evans and Oyinkan Braithwaite (Photo: The New York Times)

The previous Africans on the shortlist include Nigeria’s Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in 2004, 2007 and 2014; the Sierra Leonean-Scottish novelist, Aminatta Forna in 2011; the Ghanaian-Canadian writer, Esi Edugyan in 2012; and Nigeria’s Ayobami Adebayo in 2017. 

With Evans and Braithwaite making the shortlist, this is the first time ever that more than one African has been named a finalist for the prize. Winning the Women’s Prize for Fiction is an incredible honour — one that comes with high regard and a £30,000 cash reward. 

The winners will be announced on June 5.

Ordinary People and My Sister, The Serial Killer (Photo: Brittle Paper)