Women’s Prize for Fiction: First Chapter Winner Announced

Last month, we reported the news that the Women’s Prize for Fiction competition had begun and that budding female writers had the chance to get the spotlight shining on their work, as well as it being exposed to some of the biggest names in literature. Yesterday, the winner of the prestigious award was announced.

This year’s winner for the Women’s Prize for Fiction First Chapter competition was Helen Rogers, who’s work, along with many other entrees, was judged by the Grazia team, as well as Gail Honeyman, who write the best-selling novel Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

The competition begins with an established author, like Gail Honeyman, writing the first paragraph of a story. Those who wish to enter can then continue the story in any way they see fit, provided their piece is between 800-1,000 words. A panel of judges, including the established author, then judge the entries and select the one they feel is best.

The opening paragraph for this year’s competition, as written by Honeyman, read: “Helen was awake now. Unlike her real phone, the landline hardly ever rang. The sound reminded her of childhood; for years, her parents had kept theirs on a special teak table in the hall. It had a green velvet-cushioned seat, and there was a drawer for dried-up pens, directories and, most importantly, the family address book. Leather-bound, A souvenir from Fuengirola, it held the contact details of everyone they’d ever interacted with, regularly and ruthlessly updated in five different sets of handwriting. She could still picture her mum sitting there, ankles neatly crossed, still hear her dad answering calls with a recitation of their home number. Helen reached across for the handset, saw that it displayed a number with the same area code as her own. Something – she’d wonder what, later – made her press the green button. ‘Hello?’ she said.”

As the winner, Helen Rogers will receive a prize of £1000 and have her story published in Grazia. No doubt she’s one to keep an eye on!