Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo and breakout star Oyinkan Braithwaite have both been shortlisted for the 2020 Glass Bell Award shortlist.

Evaristo is shortlisted for her eighth novel Girl, Woman, Other , which has continued to garner critical acclaim since its publication in 2019.

Braithwaite is one of three debut novelists on the list with her murder mystery My Sister, the Serial Killer, which has been described as ‘clever’ and ‘wickedly funny’  and was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2019.

Launched in 2017, the Glass Bell Award is sponsored by the London-based independent bookshop Goldsboro Books and is annually awarded to “an outstanding work of contemporary fiction, rewarding quality storytelling in any genre”. The winner receives £2,000 and a beautiful, handmade, engraved glass bell.

Notably, the 2020 shortlist is exclusively taken up by women.

Oyinkan was thrilled about the news.

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David Headley, Goldsboro Books co-founder and MD and founder of the Glass Bell, commented:

Losing yourself in an incredible story is one of the greatest comforts available to us in these trying times – and each of these stories construct very different but equally immersive worlds for readers to inhabit. This shortlist highlights six of the best writers of fiction around today – who all happen to be women! I’m looking forward to our judging discussions – there’s so much to be said about each one of these remarkable novels, and choosing a winner will difficult but very rewarding.

The winner will be announced on 2nd July.

Congratulations to Bernardine Evaristo and Oyinkan Braithwaite!