Organised by Women's Prize Trust
As the authors shortlisted for the 2021 Women's Prize for Fiction convene on the eve of the winner announcement, we invite you into Bedford Square Garden, the stunning central London garden in which the awards party will take place. This is an event not to be missed!
Chaired by this year’s Chair of Judges, Bernardine Evaristo, and hosted by Founder-Director of the Women's Prize for Fiction and bestselling author Kate Mosse, the event will feature readings and interviews with the 2021 shortlisted authors, plus discussion about their nominated books and their impact in this remarkable year, and the opportunity to your questions to the speakers.
The event will be followed by a book signing. All of this year’s books will be available to buy from our Waterstones pop-up, and for the first time ever, we will be running a pop-up shop selling official Women’s Prize merchandise. You can also opt to buy books and merchandise with your ticket.
Speakers:
Bernardine Evaristo is the award-winning author of eight books and numerous other works that span the genres of novels, poetry, verse fiction, short fiction, essays, literary criticism, and radio and theatre drama. Her writing and projects are based around her interest in the African diaspora. She was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List this October, replacing the MBE she received in 2009. As a literary activist, Bernardine has set up many successful arts inclusion projects including the Brunel International African Poetry Prize (2012-) and The Complete Works poetry mentoring scheme (2007-2017). She is Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University London and Vice Chair of the Royal Society of Literature.
Kate Mosse is the author of nine novels & short story collections. Her books have been translated into 38 languages and published in more than 40 countries. She has also written three works of non-fiction, four plays, contributed essays and introductions to classic novels and collections. A champion of women’s creativity, Kate is the Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction – the greatest annual celebration of women’s writing in the world – and sits on the Executive Committee of Women of the World. She was awarded an OBE in 2013 for services to literature and women and was named Woman of the Year for her service to the arts in the Everywoman Awards. She is a regular guest on book and arts shows on radio and television.