Jones wins 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction for ‘An American Marriage’

American author Tayari Jones has won the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction for her novel An American Marriage (Vintage).

The book follows newlyweds Celestial and Roy as their lives are derailed when Roy is arrested and sentenced to 12 years in prison for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. It was described by the judges as ‘an exquisitely intimate portrait of a marriage shattered by racial injustice’.

Chair of judges Kate Williams said: ‘It is a story of love, loss and loyalty, the resilience of the human spirit painted on a big political canvas—that shines a light on today’s America. We all loved this brilliant book.’

An American Marriage was chosen from a shortlist of six for the £30,0000 (A$54,630) prize, which is presented annually to the best novel of the year written in English by a woman.

British-Pakistani author Kamila Shamsie won last year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction for her novel Home Fire (Bloomsbury).

For more information about the prize, see the website.

Category: Awards International news