Shortlist for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize for Women 2026

Now in its sixteenth year, the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize has become a powerful launchpad for emerging fiction, championing women and non-binary writers at a pivotal stage in their careers. Submissions continue to grow year on year, with 2026 being the biggest year yet for submissions, reflecting its growing reputation within the literary landscape.

The Prize which honours Lucy Cavendish, a reformer and pioneer of women’s education and empowerment, was set up in 2010 by the Cambridge college which bears her name. Drawn from a highly competitive longlist, this year’s shortlist showcases inventive, original fiction that reflects the breadth and energy of contemporary writing. Each writer was invited to describe their novel in ten words or fewer, offering a glimpse into the ideas behind their work:

Arden Boshier (from Derbyshire) — Mrs Webster
Love and abuse in the art scene of sixties London

D.A. Connors (originally from Ireland, now London) — The Skylark and the Blowfly
Northern Ireland, 1989: a 12-year-old papergirl investigates the disappearance of a young woman


Fiona Dignan (lives in Surrey) — What the Body Remembers
Women reclaim their bodies across generations of violence and tradition

Virginia Hall (lives in Brighton)— Meatlicker
Dark campus satire: naïve postgrad meets maverick professor

Anna Holdház (lives in London) — A Geography of Escape
An inter-generational ghost story spanning Hungary, London and Hawai'i


Dara Lutes (lives in Brighton) — The Red Flag
A darkly comic psychological mystery about collective guilt and responsibility

WME Agency, who is sponsoring the prize for a second year, took on six authors from 2025’s shortlist and longlist, including Ciara Broderick, whose debut literary thriller Catfish sold for six-figures to 4th Estate in a highly competitive auction and in deals around the world. Previous shortlisted authors include Gail Honeyman (Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine), Sara Collins (The Confessions of Frannie Langton) and Sarah Harman (All the Other Mothers Hate Me).

This year’s judging panel brought together leading voices from across the literary world. Chaired by broadcaster and writer Vogue Williams, the panel includes novelist Ela Lee, Viking Publishing Director Harriet Bourton, College Assistant Professor and Director of Studies in English Dr Clare Walker Gore, and Emeritus Fellow Dr Isobel Maddison.

On the shortlist Clare says: ‘It was such a pleasure to read the longlisted entries, and to be able to discuss them with the other judges.  It was very hard to pick just six out of so many wonderful pieces, but I’m delighted with the final shortlist. It’s so varied, from sweeping family saga to dark thriller to razor sharp social comedy. What all the shortlisted pieces have in common is brilliant, compelling writing. I can’t wait to see these novels out in the world.’

Harriet adds: ‘It has been such an honour to play a role in finding this year’s deserving winner of the Lucy Cavendish Prize, and we were spoilt for choice. The talent we saw was so impressive, and I’ve found it a deeply rewarding and humbling experience. I hope it will help some unique new voices attract the attention they so richly deserve.’

Each shortlisted author receives a one-to-one consultation with a literary agent, offering editorial insight and practical guidance on the path to publication. 

The winner of the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize 2026 will be announced on 21 May at a special ceremony at Lucy Cavendish College.

Biographies of the Shortlisted Authors

Arden Boshier — Mrs Webster

Arden Boshier is a writer from Derbyshire. She studied a BA in English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford, an MSc in Gender Studies at the LSE and she likes to explore feminist issues through fiction. Her master’s dissertation on the British abortion law reform movement was published in Lilith: A Feminist History Journal. She also runs a literary magazine for the Midlands, The Derwent Press. You can find her on Instagram at @_mythweaver_ or Substack @rheaborden.


Anna Holdház — A Geography of Escape

Anna Holdház is a writer and artist based in London. Her work draws on her Eastern European and American inheritances to explore migration, grief and the uncanny. Her short stories and non-fiction have appeared in Passengers Journal and Anthways. She studied in Visual Anthropology and has a professional background in film and media. Outside of her creative practice, she enjoys exploring unusual travel destinations, niche research rabbit holes, and all things esoteric, magickal and strange. She is on Instagram as @annaholdhaz


D.A. Connors — The Skylark and the Blowfly

D.A. Connors grew up in rural Northern Ireland and now lives outside London with her husband and three kids. Her work has placed in the Bath Novel Award Top 100 and has been longlisted for another prize due to be announced later in 2026. She learnt the writing ropes through I Am In Print. A former social worker, she now tutors children excluded from school and occasionally teaches in a prison. She’s a gym goer, but spends more time plotting strange tales than exercising. You can find her on Instagram: @stories_by_d.a._connors


Fiona Dignan — What the Body Remembers

Fiona studied Anthropology and Comparative Religion at the University of Manchester, followed by an MA in Human Resources at the University of Westminster. After a career in HR, she swapped office life for the far less predictable role of raising four children. She began writing during the Covid pandemic, in the midst of homeschooling chaos and toddler negotiations, as a way to stay (relatively) sane. It worked. Mostly. Since then, she has become an award-winning poet, short story and flash fiction writer. Her first novel, What the Body Remembers, has been taking shape over the past three years within a small writing group led by Amanda Saint (The Mindful Writer), where curiosity and deep character exploration matter more than word counts. When she’s not writing or wrangling children, she can be found walking other people’s dogs or volunteering with The Reader, leading shared reading groups in libraries. She believes deeply in the charity’s mission: that literature can connect us and help us live well.


Virginia Hall — Meatlicker

Virginia is a creative consultant, award winning copywriter and poet, and strategic facilitator. With a background spanning journalism, script writing and corporate campaigns, she is passionate about strong female characters, unusual perspectives and helping human skills thrive in an AI world. She has an MA in Critical & Creative Writing from the University of Sussex. When not writing, she spends time in the sea - surfing, swimming or paddleboarding - or choreographing 1980s dance routines with two reluctant border collies. She can be found roaming the coffee shops of Brighton and on Instagram as @virginiahallwrites


Dara Lutes — The Red Flag

Dara Lutes is a writer and communications strategist based in Brighton. Born in the US, she moved to the UK aged ten and made a mixture of good and bad life decisions for a few decades, before completing an MA in Creative Writing at the University of Brighton in 2022. Her first unpublished novel received a commendation in the Comedy Women in Print Prize in 2025, which encouraged her to write another one. As well as writing, she is interested in the art of rhetoric, inter-generational feminism and fashion as a language, but also just for fun. She is currently working on a podcast series about reading as resistance to the alarming surge in book bans. In her spare time, she pretends to ironically watch reality television by claiming it’s an important dystopian/utopian narrative. She could say she likes cooking, exercise, etc., but that would  be a lie. Dara is on Instagram as @daralutes.