The Comedy Women in Print Prize 2021 (CWIP) today announces a stellar line-up of judges as submissions open for the award’s third year. Created by actress, author and stand-up comedian Helen Lederer, CWIP was launched in 2019 in response to the lack of support and exposure for female comedy novels and as a way of discovering new talent.
The prize will be open for submissions in two categories, for Published Comedy Novel and Unpublished Comedy Novel for new writers, from Monday 12th April until Friday 28th May –slightly later than previous years following the delay of the 2020 winners’ announcement due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Award-winning author of Chocolat and Chair of the Society of Authors Joanne Harris will chair the judges for the CWIP Prize for Published Novel. Harris is joined by actress, comedian and writer Maureen Lipman (Educating Rita, Coronation Street); Channel 4 presenter Steph McGovern (Steph’s Packed Lunch); author Cathy Rentzenbrink (The Last Act of Love); 2020 CWIP winner, Nina Stibbe; and award-winning actor and writer Susan Wokoma (Enola Holmes, Chewing Gum).
The judging panel for the CWIP Prize for Unpublished Novels is chaired by journalist, editor and interviewer Sarah Shaffi. Shaffi is joined by Martha Ashby, Editorial Director at HarperFiction; winner of the 2020 CWIP Unpublished novel category, Faye Brann; broadcasting legend and regular ‘Loose Woman’, Gloria Hunniford; 2017 Funny Women Awards winner and actor Thanyia Moore; and Dr Jennifer Young, Head of Writing and Journalism at Falmouth University.
Lederer says: “To my complete delight (and just a little shock!) CWIP has gathered even more support in its third year: laughter and reading has never been more valued or needed. I thought it might be a struggle in lockdown, but more people than ever want to be told about the funniest book to read and celebrate witty writers. I hope CWIP has offered a way through isolation by celebrating funny books and encouraging new writing. The range and quality of this year’s judges has taken my breath away, especially as last year’s winning authors are also judging. Their support in nurturing new witty writers and celebrating existing one proves that CWIP can be original as well as inclusive.”
Joanne Harris, award-winning author and chair of CWIP’s judging panel for Published Novels, says: “I’m really looking forward to working with the great team of judges on the CWIP Prize, helping raise the profile of women writers of all backgrounds, cultures and experiences.”
Sarah Shaffi, journalist and chair of CWIP’s judging panel for Unpublished Novels, says: “I’ve been a fan of the CWIP Prize since it started, and I cannot wait to read the work of talented, witty, funny women, and help bring them to a new audience.”
Entries for the awards are now open and the closing date for submissions is Friday 28th May 2021. The CWIP published winner will receive a cash prize of £3000 from the Author’s Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS). For the unpublished category, recognising rising comic talent, the winner will receive a publishing contract and a £5000 advance from HarperFiction. The unpublished runner-up receives a place on the University of Hertfordshire MA course in Creative Writing or Writing Mentorship, consisting of four meetings with a professionally published author from the Creative Writing Team. A second runner-up will receive a place on the online MA in Comedy Writing from Falmouth University – the first of its kind in the country. Bestselling author Marian Keyes has judged the Prize for the last two years and is now CWIP’s supporter and patron. CWIP 2021 is also supported by Scrivener and The Writers’ Guild.
Previous winners of the published prize are Nina Stibbe for Reasons to Be Cheerful in 2020 and Laura Steven for The Exact Opposite of Okay in 2019. The 2020 winner of the unpublished prize Faye Brann will see her debut novel Tinker, Tailor, Schoolmum, Spy published in September 2021, and Kirsty Eyre’s winning novel Cow Girl was published in September 2020, both by HarperFiction. Runner up of the 2019 Unpublished prize Abigail Mann’s debut novel The Lonely Fajita is out now, and her second novel The Sister Surprise is currently available in audiobook and will be published in paperback on 24th June 2021 (One More Chapter). Special recognition prizes have also been awarded to Ruth Jones, Mavis Cheek and Jilly Cooper.
The Comedy Women in Print Prize 2021 winners will be announced at an award ceremony at the Groucho Club on Monday 8th November 2021. For more information click here!
