Trespasses

"Trespasses, set in 1970s Northern Ireland, is Kennedy’s first novel and it has found considerable acclaim—garnering endorsements from the likes of Sarah Moss, Max Porter , and Nick Hornby. It follows a young, female teacher who falls for a married man as The Troubles tear their community apart. He’s a barrister, he tells her, but this is a place where it doesn’t matter what you do—it’s all about “what you are.” They must keep their relationship a secret from everyone they know, for their own safety as much as for marital continuity. The New York Times called it “brilliant, beautiful, heartbreaking.” Kennedy, who started writing fiction in her forties, previously published a well-regarded collection of formally inventive short stories, The End of the World is a Cul de Sac . Despite the statistics given above, it does seem the tide has been turning . Female writers have been increasingly dominant on fiction shortlists in recent years, prompting some to mourn the decline of the “literary bloke” , or wonder aloud where all the young male novelists have gone . The literary gender gap is now, in fact, most exaggerated in nonfiction; an equivalent prize for factual writing by women will be launched by the same organisation in 2024 . Whether or not you agree with the concept of gender-specific prizes, here’s to hoping that there’s little call for them in the not-so-distant future."