American author Barbara Kingsolver has won the 2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction with her tenth novel Demon Copperhead, becoming the first double winner of the prize. She won in 2010 with The Lacuna.
Demon Copperhead is a heartfelt, gritty, poignant novel set in the Appalachian mountains in Virginia. A reimagining of Dickens’ David Copperfield for modern times, it tells the story of the relentless struggles and triumphs of a young boy born into poverty as he navigates foster care, labour exploitation, addiction, love and loss, while grappling with his invisibility in a culture that neglects rural communities.
“Barbara Kingsolver has written a towering, deeply powerful and significant book,” chair of judges, author and journalist Louise Minchin, said. “In a year of outstanding fiction by women, we made a unanimous decision on Demon Copperhead as our winner. Brilliant and visceral, it is storytelling by an author at the top of her game. We were all deeply moved by Demon, his gentle optimism, resilience and determination despite everything being set against him.
“An exposé of modern America, its opioid crisis and the detrimental treatment of deprived and maligned communities, Demon Copperhead tackles universal themes – from addiction and poverty, to family, love, and the power of friendship and art – it packs a triumphant emotional punch, and it is a novel that will withstand the test of time.”
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Set up in 1996 to celebrate and promote fiction by women, the Women’s Prize for Fiction is awarded for the best full-length novel of the year written by a woman and published in the UK between April and March the following year. Irish author Louise Kennedy was shortlisted for her debut novel, Trespasses. This year’s other judges were Rachel Joyce, Bella Mackie, Irenosen Okojie and Tulip Siddiq.
