Two debut authors have been named the winners of this year's Women's Prize, the award celebrating women's writing, in its Fiction and Non-Fiction categories. The double recognition of first books has put the spotlight on new voices in literature.
The Women's Prize for Fiction went to the American writer Virginia Evans, who was honoured for her novel The Correspondent. It was her debut work of fiction, and it stood out among a strong field of contenders.
The novel is built around an unusual narrative device. It follows the life of a 73-year-old retired lawyer who, every week, sits down to write letters to various friends and relatives, allowing the story to unfold through that correspondence.
In the Non-Fiction category, the prize was awarded to Lyse Doucet for her debut book, The Finest Hotel in Kabul. The recognition marked a notable success for a first work of non-fiction.
The book tells the story of modern-day Afghanistan through a single, evocative setting. It follows the experiences of the staff and guests of the city's once-luxurious Intercontinental hotel, using their lives as a window onto the country's turbulent recent history.
That both winning titles are debut works underlines the role the Women's Prize plays in championing emerging authors. With one award going to fiction and the other to non-fiction, this year's honours spanned very different forms of storytelling while sharing a focus on the written word.