Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019: Bottled Goods Longlisted

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We are thrilled to announce that Bottled Goods by Sophie van Llewyn has been longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019!

Last night, 4 March 2019, Louise and Lindsey were able to attend the Women’s Prize event celebrating the longlist, where they learnt more about this prestigious prize, and met some of the longlisted authors and their publishers.

Lindsey (Left) and Louise (Right)

Founded in 1996, and previously known as the Orange Prize and the Baileys Prize, the Women’s Prize for Fiction has been celebrating originality and excellence in women writers for twenty-four years.

This year over 160 books were submitted and read by judges Kate Williams, Dolly Alderton, Arifa Akbar, Leyla Hussein and Sarah Wood, who then selected a longlist of sixteen titles.

It is an honour to have Bottled Goods recognised for its compelling story and beautiful writing. Set in 1970s communist Romania, this debut novella-in-flash follows Alina’s plight after her brother-in-law defects to the West. She and her husband become persons of interest to the secret services, causing both of their careers to come grinding to a halt.

As the strain takes its toll on their marriage, Alina turns to her aunt for help – the wife of a communist leader and a secret practitioner of the old folk ways…

Women's Prize for Fiction 2019
Sophie van Llewyn with her book Bottled Goods

‘This stunning historical novella […] is both tense and atmospheric.’Mslexia

‘The prose is tight, witty, vivid […] Every word on the page pulls its weight.’Litro

We have two excerpts from Bottled Goods available to read here;  Of Gifts of Unknown Provenance and The Saturday When Everything Changed. For buying options follow this link.

Author of Bottled Goods, Sophie van Llewyn, was born in south-eastern Romania. She has published and won awards for her flash fiction and short stories across the UK, Europe and the States. She worked as an editor in a literary magazine and is currently the resident flash fiction writer with TSS Publishing. If you’re interested in learning more read our interview with Sophie here.

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