Celebrated author Bernardine Evaristo expressed astonishment at receiving a prestigious lifetime achievement award marking the 30th anniversary of the Women’s Prize for Fiction.
Evaristo, the first Black woman to win the Booker Prize (shared with Margaret Atwood in 2019), remarked to the BBC, “This wasn’t on anyone’s radar… I feel very blessed.”
The award recognizes her impactful career, encompassing her Booker-winning novel, Girl, Woman, Other, and her extensive advocacy for diversity and inclusion in the arts.
Evaristo will receive £100,000 and a commemorative sculpture, presented at a June 12th London ceremony alongside the announcement of the 2025 Women’s Prize winners for Fiction and Non-Fiction.
She plans to dedicate the prize money to supporting fellow women writers, promising further details this autumn. “I’m not doing it because I’m a multi-millionaire,” she quipped. “It just feels right to put back in. We should support each other.”
The writer described the recognition of her advocacy work as “incredibly validating,” emphasizing the Prize’s crucial role in elevating women’s voices within a previously underserved literary landscape.
Evaristo co-founded Theatre of Black Women (1982-1988), and has since established several impactful initiatives, including Spread the Word, the Complete Works mentoring scheme, and the Brunel International African Poetry Prize. She was appointed MBE in 2009 for services to literature.
The 66-year-old attributed her activism, beginning in the 1980s, to a perceived need for change. “At that time, it’s not something I saw as separate to my creativity. I did it because I knew I wanted to take responsibility, to be the change I wanted to see. I did it because it needed to be done.”
She stressed the importance of continued activism, cautioning against complacency. “If we don’t keep up momentum, the status quo might close in on itself again,” she warned, noting a current “backlash against freedoms women had earned over a century.”
While declining to discuss upcoming projects, Evaristo affirmed her ability to balance writing and activism, attributing her success to effective compartmentalization and a genuine passion for her work.
The Women’s Prize Trust aims to celebrate women’s voices, promote writing as a viable career for women from all backgrounds, and showcase original work. The judging panel included Bonnie Greer, Vick Hope, and Kate Mosse.
Mosse stated, “Bernardine Evaristo’s beautiful, ambitious and inventive body of work…and her courage to take risks…made her the ideal recipient. Significantly, Evaristo has consistently used her own magnificent achievements…to create opportunities for others, to promote unheard and under-heard women’s voices.”
Born in Woolwich, London, to an English mother and a Nigerian father, Evaristo’s background has shaped her literary and activist pursuits. She currently serves as president of the Royal Society of Literature and a professor at Brunel University.
Her notable works include Mr Loverman (adapted into a BBC drama), Blonde Roots, and the memoir Manifesto: On Never Giving Up.
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