The Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2017 Longlist

This is Selection Sunday for the bookish, one of my favorite nights of the year.  The results are in, and the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction has selected 16 books for the 2017 longlist. Only three of my predictions made the list, but I am very happy to see them where they belong. I am most surprised that Homegoing by Ya’a Gyasi was left off of this list, given its massively positive reception, critical acclaim, and its presence on nearly everyone’s prediction list. The other not-inconsequential disappointment with this year’s list is its lack of women of color. In a prize that is all about celebrating the under-appreciated and often ignored gifts of women writers, one can only hope for a more diverse representation among its nominees.

The list, as it stands, is still mouth-wateringly tempting and is going to make for a debauched month of reading. My goal will be to have read (and reviewed) all nominees by the Shortlist announcement on April 3rd.

The longlisted books are as follows (with links as each is reviewed):

Stay With Me, Ayobami Adebayo
The Power, Naomi Alderman
Hag-Seed, Margaret Atwood
Little Deaths, Emma Flint
The Mare, Mary Gaitskill
The Dark Circle, Linda Grant
The Lesser Bohemians, Eimear McBride
Midwinter, Fiona Melrose
The Sport of Kings, C.E. Morgan
The Woman Next Door, Yewande Omotoso
The Lonely Hearts Hotel, Heather O’Neill
The Essex Serpent, Sarah Perry
Barkskins, Annie Proulx
First Love, Gwendoline Riley
Do Not Say We Have Nothing, Madeleine Thien
The Gustav Sonata, Rose Tremain