Bernardine Evaristo wins prestigious women’s prize for her literary contributions

In a significant recognition of her literary contributions, Bernardine Evaristo was awarded the Women’s Prize Outstanding Contribution Award on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. The award, which comes with a £100,000 prize, celebrates Evaristo's transformative impact on literature and her dedication to uplifting under-represented voices. At 66 years old, she has dedicated her career to promoting the stories of women and writers of color, leveraging her diverse background that includes a Nigerian father and a white British mother. Her eclectic body of work encompasses poetry, memoirs, and novels, with 'Girl, Woman, Other' being her most notable piece, which garnered her the Booker Prize in 2019. Evaristo's literary career has been characterized by a commitment to exploring the complexities of identity, culture, and history through her writing. Her Booker Prize-winning novel is a polyphonic exploration of the experiences of Black women in Britain, told through the perspectives of twelve characters. This work has sold over a million copies and was even featured in Barack Obama’s list of books of the year. Evaristo's impressive track record includes experimentally tackling themes of race and history, as seen in works like 'Blonde Roots' and 'Mr Loverman,' where she defies clichéd portrayals of the British Caribbean immigrant experience. Beyond her writing, she has played a vital role in advocating for under-represented voices, notably through the Complete Works program, which she founded to help poets of color get published and find their footing in the literary world. This initiative arose from her findings that fewer than 1% of published poets in Britain were of color at that time, showcasing a stark under-representation that she sought to confront. Despite the advancements in representation in literature, Evaristo acknowledges that ongoing vigilance is necessary to ensure a diverse literary landscape. Referring to her personal experiences growing up in a racially charged environment in 1960s London, she expressed hope that society has made progress but remains wary of complacency. The award not only recognizes her achievements but also the ongoing necessity of confronting racial and social issues through literature, a means Evaristo has effectively used throughout her career. Ultimately, her honor illustrates the increasing recognition of diverse voices in the literary world, highlighting the importance of including a multitude of experiences and perspectives in storytelling, something that Evaristo has continuously championed throughout her work.