Evaristo and Caldwell make Shafak's top 10 exciting women writers list

Elif Shafak has revealed her selection of ten of the most exciting women writers working in the UK. 

Shafak’s list, unveiled at a special LBF event, was commissioned by the National Centre for Writing (NCW) and British Council supported by Arts Council England to launch a new two-year programme to promote writing from the UK to an international audience. 
 
The novelist's selected writers are: Patience Agbabi, Lucy Caldwell, Gillian Clarke, Bernardine Evaristo, Jessie Greengrass, Kapka Kassabova, Charlotte Higgins, Sara Maitland, Denise Mina and Evie Wyld. 

Shafak said: “Each writer is very different in terms of style and subject matter, and yet they all share a significant trait: a passionate commitment to the art and craft of storytelling. To the power and the positive potential of words. Their voices bring clarity into the commotion of our times and help connect us across regions, religions, ethnicities and dialects.”

With a view to promoting the export of outstanding talent to international markets Shafak’s selection is a call to world-wide literature festivals, publishers and academics to look again at writing from the UK and broaden the scope of authors considered for literary events, translation and contemporary British literature courses. 

The International Literature Showcase will invite six guest curators to focus on different aspects of writing from the UK starting with Shafak’s selection of women writers and moving on to explore LGBTQIA+ writers with guest curator Val McDermid, followed by Jackie Kay’s selection of BAME writers.