The 2026 winners of the Women's Prizes have been announced! The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet won the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, and Virginia Evans won the Women’s Prize for Fiction for her novel The Correspondent.
Winner of the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction
The Correspondent
Virginia Evans
In her letters to family and friends we come to know the life of Sybil Van Antwerp – stubborn, cantankerous, opinionated, always steadfast in her belief in the power of the written word.
But as the clock begins to tick for Sybil, the need for a few post-scripts to the life she's led becomes apparent. Fixing her difficult relationship with her children. Taking a final chance at romance. Atoning for an old legal case which has come back to haunt her. And finally, reckoning with a devastating loss that she has spent the last thirty years holding close to her chest.
Julia Gillard, Chair of Judges for the Fiction Prize, said:
'The Correspondent by Virginia Evans is a remarkable novel, with an exemplary combination of originality, excellence and accessibility. It is no mean feat to write a life in letters, but Evans makes this feel effortless, asking the reader to consider the choices we make, whilst elevating an ordinary life in the most heartfelt of ways. The sheer skill required to render an emotionally resonant and engaging work in this format is spectacular. This is a novel that captured our hearts, and should be read and savoured by all.'
Winner of the 2026 Women's Prize for Non-Fiction
The Finest Hotel in Kabul
Lyse Doucet
Lyse Doucet first checked into the luxury Inter-Continental Kabul on Christmas Eve 1988. In the decades since, she has witnessed a Soviet evacuation, a devastating civil war, the US invasion, and the rise, fall and rise of the Taliban, all from within its increasingly battered walls. The Inter-Con has never closed its doors.
Now, she weaves together the experiences of the Afghans who have kept the hotel running to craft a richly immersive history of their country. Through intimate portraits of Afghan life, the story of a hotel becomes the story of a people.
Thangam Debbonaire, Chair of Judges for the Non-Fiction Prize, said:
'The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet is a perfect work of narrative non-fiction: it is not only cleverly constructed and brilliantly researched, but each and every element is handled with extraordinary sensitivity and warmth – it will move you to tears or make you laugh, or perhaps both. Informed by decades of excellent reporting, Doucet centres the real-life experiences of people – the staff and guests, alongside the hotel itself – and with the future of Afghanistan still being written, this book’s importance will only get stronger as the years go by.'
Stock expected by Friday 26 June.
The Women's Prize for Fiction has been running in the UK for more than thirty years, celebrating the creativity of women writers and amplifying women's voices. 2026 is the third year of the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction, which was introduced in 2024 to further support women writers in an important and traditionally male-dominated field.
Claire Shanahan, Executive Director of the Women's Prize Trust said: 'The work we do at the Women’s Prize Trust – the charity behind the Prizes – is inspired by our mission to build a better future for everyone by championing women’s writing. We are living through challenging times: amplifying women’s voices and their power to inspire change is as important now as it ever has been, perhaps even more so. The 32 extraordinary books recognised over this year’s Prizes are a compelling affirmation of what women’s words can achieve and I urge readers to buy, borrow and share these exceptional books.'
Learn more about the Women's Prizes and this year's winners here, or revisit the 2026 shortlists for fiction and nonfiction.
