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Reading List · Literary PrizesPrize-Winning Women Writers
Selma Lagerlöf became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1909. Edith Wharton was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, in 1921, and Bernice Rubens the first woman to win the Booker Prize, in 1970. This page brings together three lists that follow every woman, or a wide selection of women, who won one of these prizes.
Each list gives a short introduction to every writer and one book to start with, so you can read your way through more than a century of prize-winning fiction and poetry by women.
The lists
Every winner, men and women
Frequently asked questions
How many women have won the Nobel Prize in Literature?
Nineteen as of October 2026. Selma Lagerlöf was the first, in 1909, and Anne Carson the most recent, in 2026.
How many women have won the Booker Prize?
Up to and including the 2025 prize, 19 women have won the Booker Prize. Hilary Mantel and Margaret Atwood have each won twice.
How many women have won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?
Thirty-three women have won the prize since the category began in 1918, starting with Edith Wharton in 1921.
Who was the first woman to win the Booker Prize?
Bernice Rubens, who won in 1970 for The Elected Member.
Start with the prize whose winners you know least. Each list gives one book to begin with for every writer.
Browse every author guide Browse every reading list