Comedy Women in Print Prize

The Comedy Women in Print Prize is a literary award for comedy novels written by women. It was founded in 2018 by Helen Lederer in response to the low number of women awarded the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize, having only been presented to three women in 18 years.^[1] However, Lederer has been careful not to describe the prize in critical terms.^[2] She also acknowledges that her status as a well-known comedian has helped draw focus onto the award.^[3]

It has been received as a positive way to shine a light on comedic novels, in an environment where publishers may regard comedy as difficult or risky.^[4]

The award started with two categories, published and unpublished novels. Part of the prize for the winner of the unpublished category has been a publishing offer with HarperCollins.

In 2022, an additional award was added to celebrate a debut published author. This is known as the New Voice award and commemorates the legacy of Sue Townsend.^[5]

Past winners

Previous winners^[6]

Year	Category	Author	Title	Publisher	Judges
2019	Published Comedy Novel	Laura Steven	The Exact Opposite of Okay	Electric Monkey	Marian Keyes, Kathy Lette, Katy Brand, Shazia Mirza, Jenny Eclair, Allison Pearson
	Unpublished Comedy Novel	Kirsty Eyre	Cow Girl	HarperCollins	Fanny Blake, Susan Calman, Martha Ashby, Jennifer Young, Lara Marshall, Karen McPherson
2020	Published Comedy Novel	Nina Stibbe	Reasons to Be Cheerful[7]	Penguin Books	Lolly Adefope, Marian Keyes, Emma Kennedy, Pauline McLynn, Joanna Scanlan, Laura Steven
	Unpublished Comedy Novel	Faye Brann	Tinker, Tailor, Schoolmum, Spy	HarperCollins	Yomi Adegoke, Fanny Blake, Kate Bradley, Grace Campbell, Kirsty Eyre, Jennifer Young, Rachel Ball, Dr Nicola Streeten, Janet Ellis, Hannah Berry, Jen Brister, Paula Wilcox
	Humorous Graphic Novel	Danny Noble	Was it… Too Much for You?
	Humorous Graphic Novel	Posy Simmonds	Cassandra Darke
	Flash Fiction (Women in Pants)	Lily Lindon
2021	Published Comedy Novel	Jesse Q. Sutanto	Dial A for Aunties[8]	HQ	Joanne Harris, Maureen Lipman, Steph McGovern, Cathy Rentzenbrink, Nina Stibbe, Susan Wokoma
	Unpublished Comedy Novel	Rebecca Rogers	The Purgatory Poisoning	HarperCollins	Sarah Shaffi, Martha Ashby, Faye Brann, Gloria Hunniford, Thanyia Moore, Dr Jennifer Young
	Flash Fiction (Comedy Cringe) (in partnership with Black Girl Writers and People in Harmony)	AJ Morris			Llewella Gideon
2022	Flash Fiction (Faux Pas Flash)	Geena Erfurth-Roberts
2023	Published Comedy Novel	Michelle Gallen	Factory Girls	John Murray	Susie Blake, Michelle de Swarte, Anita Dobson, Angie Greaves, Jesse Q. Sutanto, Arabella Weir
	Unpublished Comedy Novel	Silvia Saunders	Happy Above Us re-titled Home Sick for publication	HarperCollins	Charlie George, Llewella Gideon, Liz Hoggard, Rebecca Rogers, Lucy Stewart, Jennifer Young
	New Voice Award	Nikki May	Wahala	John Murray
	Flash Fiction (Festive Flash)	Ellie Hughes			Deborah Frances-White
	Comedy Short Story (in collaboration with Farago)	Paula Lennon	Sorry, Delivery		Gabby Hutchinson Crouch, Abbie Headon, Yasmeen Khan, Olga Koch, Ria Lina, Chrissie Manby

References

1. Flood, Allison (10 August 2018). "Helen Lederer launches prize for funny female writers". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
2. Nathan, Lucy (16 December 2022). "The BookBrunch Interview: Helen Lederer, Comedy Women in Print Prize founder". Bookbrunch. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
3. Turner, Yasmin (21 March 2023). "Q&A with Helen Lederer". Entertainment Now. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
4. Larman, Alexander (5 May 2020). "Where is the Waugh or Wodehouse of our time?". The Critic. Retrieved 2 November 2023. The reason why it is so difficult for comic novels to be published, despite their enormous popularity with readers, is that most editors and publishers are cautious of its potential difficulty as a genre
5. Wood, Heloise (17 April 2023). "Gallen triumphs at 2023 Comedy Women in Print Prize". The Bookseller. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
6. "Previous Winners on official website". Retrieved 24 September 2023.
7. Sutton, Megan (15 September 2020). "Nina Stibbe has won the Comedy Women in Print Prize 2020". Good Housekeeping. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
8. Flood, Alison (8 November 2021). "'Delicious caper' by Jesse Sutanto wins Comedy women in print award". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2023.