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Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Queen Camilla praises literary prize championing women authors
Queen Camilla made a surprise appearance at an open-air event to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Women's Prize for Fiction in London where she hailed the competition for helping female writers The Queen has praised a leading fiction competition for elevating women's narratives from the "margins" to the "very centre" of the literary world. The royal graced an alfresco celebration marking the Women's Prize for Fiction's 30th anniversary with her unexpected presence, where she engaged with this year's shortlisted writers. British novelist and non-fiction writer Kate Mosse, who helped establish the award, lauded Camilla as a "genuine reader" and a staunch supporter of the initiative, remarking on the Royal visit: "If you're going to lay on the Queen, if it's not Beyoncé, it's got to be the actual Queen." The Queen addressed the crowd gathered in Bedford Square gardens, reflecting on 1995 — the year the prize was founded — as a pivotal moment for women. She highlighted that while 1995 saw women achieving milestones like winning a Nobel Prize and piloting a space shuttle for the first time, the literary world presented a "bleaker" picture, with only 9% of female authors making it onto major prize shortlists despite penning 60% of novels. Camilla underscored that Mosse and her colleagues initiated the Women's Prize for Fiction because "they believed that women's stories should be truly heard, understood and honoured; and that it was time to disprove Virginia Woolf's famous statement that ' often a woman'". Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you! She expressed: "They did this by establishing the Women's Prize for Fiction and its instantly recognisable statuette, 'The Bessie'. This simple, but radical, step brought the female voice from the margins of the literary world to its very centre." Camilla engaged in conversation with the six authors shortlisted for the prize – Aria Aber, Sanam Mahloudji, Elizabeth Strout, Nussaibah Younis, Miranda July and Yael van der Wouden. Younis managed to inject some humour into the proceedings and got some laughs when she quipped: "We're trying to take each other out, the champagne glasses are spiked, there could be one left standing." Following her chat with Camilla, Younis commented on her competition, saying: "I have read all of the books and I'm blown away. They're funny and so sexy and very erotic." The Queen Consort then met the authors selected for the shortlist of the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction, including the illustrious singer-songwriter and rapper Neneh Cherry, who penned A Thousand Threads, recounting her extraordinary career journey. "I wrote a memoir, a book about my life," Cherry told Camilla enthusiastically. She revealed that it took her over four years to pen the memoir, admitting: "It took more than four years to write it and I'm still slightly recovering. It's out there now, I have let it go, it's out in the world." During the exchange, the Queen evidently showed interest, telling author Claire Mulley: "I think I will put that on my holiday reading list." Furthermore, she conveyed to Chloe Dalton that she had delved into her book Raising Hare, which narrates Dalton's transition from the frantic urban landscape to a pastoral existence. "Thank you so much, I am honoured," she responded.
Wales Online
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Queen Camilla praises literary prize for championing women authors
Queen Camilla praises literary prize for championing women authors Camilla made a surprise appearance at an open-air event (Image: Anadolu, Anadolu Agency via Getty Images ) The Queen has hailed a leading fiction competition for bringing female voices from the "margins" to the "very centre" of the literary world. Camilla made a surprise appearance at an open-air event celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Women's Prize for Fiction and met the shortlisted authors for this year's award. Writer Kate Mosse, co-founder of the prize, described Camilla as a "genuine reader" who has supported the project, and said about the royal appearance: "If you're going to lay on the Queen, if it's not Beyonce, it's got to be the actual Queen." The Queen stopped broadcaster Louise Minchin, who was hosting a discussion, to address the audience in Bedford Square gardens in central London, and told guests that 1995, when the prize was launched, was a significant year for women. While women were winning a Nobel Prize and piloting a space shuttle for the first time in 1995, she said things were "bleaker" in the literary world with only 9% of female authors shortlisted for major prizes despite writing 60% of novels. Camilla said Mosse led the founding of the Women's Prize for Fiction as "they believed that women's stories should be truly heard, understood and honoured; and that it was time to disprove Virginia Woolf's famous statement that ' often a woman'". Article continues below She added: "They did this by establishing the Women's Prize for Fiction and its instantly recognisable statuette, 'The Bessie'. This simple, but radical, step brought the female voice from the margins of the literary world to its very centre." Camilla chatted to the six shortlisted authors – Aria Aber, Sanam Mahloudji, Elizabeth Strout, Nussaibah Younis, Miranda July and Yael van der Wouden. Younis joked with the Queen and made the group laugh when she said: "We're trying to take each other out, the champagne glasses are spiked, there could be one left standing." After speaking to Camilla, she said about her fellow shortlisted writers: "I have read all of the books and I'm blown away. They're funny and so sexy and very erotic." The Queen was then introduced to the six shortlisted authors for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction, including singer-songwriter and rapper Neneh Cherry, whose debut book, A Thousand Threads tells the story of her career. "I wrote a memoir, a book about my life," she told Camilla. "It took more than four years to write it and I'm still slightly recovering. It's out there now, I have let it go, it's out in the world." The Queen told Claire Mulley, whose Agent Zo tells the story of the Polish wartime resistance fighter Elzbieta Zawacka: "I think I will put that on my holiday reading list." And she delighted author Chloe Dalton by telling her she had read her memoir Raising Hare about swapping the rat race for a rural life. Article continues below "Thank you so much, I am honoured," she replied.
