The Desmond Elliot Prize celebrates the best British and Irish debut fiction, and this year the longlist is dominated by female writers, leaving just enough space for three men to squeeze into the list of ten. Sounds a bit like Tom Keneally and Brian Castro in the Miles Franklin.
Unlike the perceived gender bias in Australian literary awards, which recently led to the creation of the Stella Prize, the Desmond Elliot prize has been awarded more times in its history to women than men. In the five years of its existence, female authors have snagged three wins.
