2020 Political Fiction Book prize finalist

Girl, Woman, Other

Bernadine Evaristo

Published by: Hamish Hamilton

Bernardine Evaristo is the Anglo-Nigerian award-winning author of several books of fiction and verse fiction that explore aspects of the African diaspora: past, present, real, imagined. Her writing also spans short fiction, reviews, essays, drama and writing for BBC radio. She is Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University, London, and Vice Chair of the Royal Society of Literature. She was made an MBE in 2009. As a literary activist for inclusion Bernardine has founded a number of successful initiatives, including Spread the Word writer development agency (1995-ongoing); the Complete Works mentoring scheme for poets of colour (2007-2017) and the Brunel International African Poetry Prize (2012-ongoing). www.bevaristo.com

A worldly, compassionate and detailed depiction of the lives of different generations of black women attempting to achieve self-realisation against the forces of classic family conservatism and within a society structured to maintain white supremacy. Piercingly funny even as it welcomes the reader into the complexities of being a female parent, child, lover, and an ambitious traveller through life when no one has yet provided a suitable guide book."