The Comedy Women in Print Prize (CWIP) has announced their longlists, featuring a range of satire, sharp wit, dark humour and comedic romance from both established names and debuts.
This is the third year of the UK and Ireland’s only prize to shine a light on funny novels by
women and offers something for everyone, after 18 months of readers turning to books for
comfort and escape.
Demonstrating the multitude of ways women can express wit and humour, the writers
longlisted in the Published Comic Novel category are: debut authors HELLY ACTON and
JANE IONS; Sunday Times Style columnist and National Book Award winner DOLLY
ALDERTON; Indian American writer and actor DIKSHA BASU; bestselling YA author HOLLY
BOURNE and children’s and YA author JESSE SUTANTO for their debut adult novels;
journalist, author and podcaster DAISY BUCHANAN; Women’s Prize longlisted Irish debut
novelist NAOISE DOLAN; producer, director and author LISSA EVANS; comedian, writer,
actor and presenter MEL GIEDROYC; award-winning Irish novelist and short-story writer
CAOILINN HUGHES; South Korean writer YUN KO-EUN and her translator, LIZZIE BUEHLER; 2009 Funny Women Awards winner and stand-up comedian ANDI OSHO; and columnist, writer and
broadcaster LYNNE TRUSS.
Joanne Harris, Chair of Judges for the CWIP Published Novel Prize, says:
“What a marvellously diverse longlist! Humour is the thing that connects and reflects all of
humanity, and I’m really looking forward to immersing myself in the wit and wisdom of these
amazing women, and bringing their voices to the attention of a wider public.”
Lockdown seems to have driven aspiring writers to find the funny side, with entries for the
Unpublished Prize up 26% on last year. 12 writers are longlisted in the Unpublished Comic
Novel category.
Martha Ashby, Judge for the CWIP Unpublished Novel Prize, says: “The longlist demonstrated that we can find humour in almost any situation and across the
generations: from murder at an NCT class, to a bucket list from a deceased best friend, or a crafty old woman moving into a nursing home for the first time, to a twenty-seven-year-old
in the grips of a quarter-life crisis. What united them all was a sense of fun, originality and a
certain je ne sais quoi that proved irresistible to the panel!”
The CWIP Prize was launched by actress, author and stand-up comedian HELEN LEDERER in
2019 as a literary platform to increase exposure for diverse female voices in comedy writing,
and as a way of celebrating fresh and established talent.
Helen Lederer, Founder of the CWIP Prize, says:
“Who knew that lockdown could offer such a broad sweep of satire, witty storytelling, and
yes, we dare say, blatant laughs. This year’s entries are as mind blowing in their differences
as they are united in wit and feistiness. We never needed wit on the page more and these
authors were the cavalry. The increase of both published and unpublished entries proved
that there are so many talented, witty writers out there simply bursting to be read.”
The Comedy Women in Print Prize 2021 longlist for Published Comic Novel is:
The Shelf by Helly Acton (Bonnier Books)
Ghosts by Dolly Alderton (Penguin)
Destination Wedding by Diksha Basu (Bloomsbury)
Pretending by Holly Bourne (Hodder & Stoughton)
Insatiable by Daisy Buchanan (Little, Brown)
Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan (Orion)
V for Victory by Lissa Evans (Doubleday/Transworld)
The Best Things by Mel Giedroyc (Headline)
The Wild Laughter by Caoilinn Hughes (Oneworld Publications)
Domestic Bliss and Other Disasters by Jane Ions (Bluemoose Books)
The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun, translated by Lizzie Buehler (Serpent’s Tail)
Asking for a Friend by Andi Osho (HQ, HarperCollins)
Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Sutanto (HQ, HarperCollins)
Murder by Milk Bottle by Lynne Truss (Raven Books)
The Comedy Women in Print Prize 2021 longlist for Unpublished Comic Novel is:
The World is Your Lobster by Jane Ayres
The Lady Detective by Hannah Dolby
The Lake House by Jen Fraser
Fools Rush In by Jo Lyons
Six Months to Find a Husband by Jo McGrath
What Would Joan Jett Do? by Alyssa Osiecki
The Purgatory Poisoning by Rebecca Rogers
The NCT Murders by Katherine Sumner-Ailes
Life Lessons by Hannah Sutherland
This is 27 by Gemma Tizzard
Labour Law by Clare Ward-Smith
The Death and Life of Agnes Grace by Emma Williams
Award-winning author of Chocolat and Chair of the Society of Authors Joanne Harris is chair
of 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; stand-up comic and
actress Thanyia Moore; and Dr Jennifer Young, Head of Writing and Journalism at Falmouth
University.
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.
For more details about CWIP visit www.comedywomeninprint.co.uk.
The Comedy Women in Print Prize 2021 winners will be announced at an award ceremony
at the Groucho Club on Monday 8th November 2021.
