The Women’s Prize for Fiction this year was awarded to The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, a book that has also been on the bestseller list for several months.

The novel, written in a unique style—though not the first of its kind—may have endeared the book to the judges, who picked it over complex historical epics and serious social narratives. According to Julia Gillard, Chair of Judges for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction, “The Correspondent by Virginia Evans is a remarkable novel, with an exemplary combination of originality, excellence, and accessibility. It is no mean feat to write a life in letters, but Evans makes this feel effortless, asking the reader to consider the choices we make whilst elevating an ordinary life in the most heartfelt of ways. The sheer skill required to render an emotionally resonant and engaging work in this format is spectacular. This is a novel that captured our hearts and should be read and savoured by all.”

The protagonist of The Correspondent is a septuagenarian, Sybil Van Antwerp, a retired attorney living in a pretty waterfront cottage in Annapolis, Maryland. Through a compilation of letters and occasional emails spanning from 2012 to 2022, Evans crafts a layered character study of a woman who lived a life that was “magical and mundane”.

A life told through letters

Having grown up at a time when people communicated through letters, Sybil writes to members of her........

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