The 2025 Comedy Women in Print Prize (CWIP) shortlists announced today – Wednesday 17th September 2025 – comprise contemporary and heartfelt writing using wit as the conduit to plunder personal stories while shining a much-needed light on the world stage. Nothing is off limits - from raucous reveals to tender circumspection – these titles have the power to make you think and make you laugh at the same time.
The awards, devised by actor, comedian, and author Helen Lederer, will be held at the Groucho Club on 3 November. Honorary awards at the glittering ceremony to include a very famous, enduring winner, as well as a famous break-through witty woman.
The Published Novel shortlist, chosen by a celebrated panel of judges that includes Kerry Godliman, Ingrid Oliver and Ranvir Singh, offers four debut novels, and celebrates anarchic, daring writers, some drawing on political landscapes and worlds far beyond the domestic arena.
The absurdity of ‘funny sad’ and ‘out of the box’ thinking makes this year’s list stand out as an evolved celebration of contemporary writing - allowing comedy to be conjured from ISIS brides (Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis) and aliens (Beautyland by Marie-Helen Bertino) - Or a 40-year-old radio producer having to face up to the sex predators hiding behind her celebrity comedian (Don’t Make Me Laugh by writer and standup Julia Raeside).
Similarly, the darker side of clowning as an art form (Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One by Kristen Arnett) offers insight in the profession of comedy itself. No taboo is off the table. Women take back agency and celebrate finding a place in a world that – until only recently - was closed to them.
Domestic breakdown is rendered with poignancy and heart in The Wedding People by Alison Espach (where a divorcee checks into a lavish hotel intending to commit suicide but ends up as a guest of the wedding taking place there) to a Groundhog Day-marriage where a new husband emerges from the attic every day (Holly Gramazio’s The Husbands, a satire on the commitment-phobic Tinder generation). Ruthless self- plundering of millennial angst and neurodivergence are given a new satirical twist in Sara Pascoe’s Weirdo.
Published Novel category head judge Chrissie Manby comments: 'I think this is a fabulous shortlist with something for everyone. We’ve chosen seven truly original books that feel very fresh and exciting. What’s particularly noteworthy is that four of our shortlisted titles are debuts, with a level of accomplishment to make this old author weep.’
The awards have also announced the shortlist for The Unpublished Novel of over 80,000 words which brings six new writers closer to a book deal. Cross-generational stories dominate the list, in a recognisable post-Covid landscape, where many of our closest relationships have literally been blown apart, as characters strive to reconnect.
Unpublished Novel category head judge Jennifer Young comments:
‘The CWIP shortlist novels are brimming with wit and warmth, while tackling complex intergenerational relationships and the ties that bring us together. Judging such a rich long list was not easy!’
These debuts include everything from an Asian mother in the thick of the sandwich generation (Music for the Samosa Generation by Natalie Willbe) to a young recluse who busts her grandmother out of her care home (The Way of Nellie May by Rachel Sambrooks), and the perils of perimenopausal dating (Generation Ex by Dara Lutes). The winner will receive a book deal with Hera Books.
The Self-Published Novel is a brand new CWIP category for 2025 and celebrates witty women writers who have the courage to publish themselves. This genre of ‘unsung’ publishing is seen as a welcome addition to traditional publishing. The shortlisted narratives show women finding their strength and redefining themselves. From cosy crime to women in competition with each other these titles showcase a warmer side to witty story telling. The winner will receive a package from hybrid book publisher Atmosphere Press.
CWIP Founder Helen Lederer comments: ‘It’s CWIP’s seven year and with it came my seven-year itch – do we still need a prize for witty women writers I asked? But the judges support for these books proves how a new bravery and boldness in witty writing is both needed and relished. The need to connect through humour has never been more valued. Our job is to big up the funny. The itch has been scratched’
The Comedy Women in Print Prize 2025 shortlist for the Published Novel category is:
Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One by Kristen Arnett (Corsair)
Beautyland by Marie Helen Bertino (Vintage)
The Wedding People by Alison Espach (Phoenix)
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio (Chatto & Windus)
Weirdo by Sara Pascoe (Faber & Faber)
Don’t Make Me Laugh by Julia Raeside (Bedford Square Publishers)
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
The Comedy Women in Print Prize 2025 shortlist for the Unpublished Novel category is:
Some News by Jeananne Craig
Generation Ex by Dara Lutes
Checking Out by Raedin O'Connor
When Death is the Day Job by Deborah Rayner
The Way of Nellie May by Rachel Sambrooks
Music for the Samosa Generation by Natalie Willbe
The Comedy Women in Print Prize 2025 shortlist for the Self-Published Novel category is
A Perfect Year by Ruth Foster
Octopus by Pony Louder
Crime & Prejudice by Julia Miller
Butterflies by Michelle Smart
Game of Trust by Yvonne Vincent
The Stand-Up Mam by Kay Wilson
The CWIP podcast ‘Writing Funny’ will be hosted by Helen Lederer, featuring a different guest from the world of writing and comedy, to support and engage with the CWIP community and beyond for autumn 2025.
ABOUT THE JUDGES
This year’s judges of CWIP’s published category include stand-up comedian and actor Kerry Godliman; Ranvir Singh, award-winning presenter of ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Lorraine and Real Stories: actor, performer and writer Chizzy Akudolu; actor, comedian and writer Ingrid Oliver; TV fashion journalist, writer, style advisor, television presenter and author Susannah Constantine; fiction author and Independent columnist Chrissie Manby.
Unpublished judges include Dawn Butler MP (formerly Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office and Minister for Young Citizens and Youth Engagement); actor and novelist Janet Ellis; arts journalist Liz Hoggard; award-winning writer, performer, theatre-maker and creative producer Malaika Kegode; Co-Founder and Executive Publisher of Hera Books Keshini Naidoo; and historical novelist Jennifer Young, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Design and Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Falmouth University.
Self-published judges include actor, comedian and writer Llewella Gideon; writer, MP and disability rights activist Alison Hume; stage and screen actor Lesley Joseph; book reviewer and MD of LoveReading Deborah Maclaren; and Silvia Saunders, whose debut novel, Homesick, was winner of the CWIP Unpublished Prize in 2023.
PRIZES
Published Comedy Novel
The Published Comedy Novel winner receives £3000 from ALCS.
Self-Published Comedy Novel
The Self-Published / Hybrid Published Comedy Novel winner will be celebrated at the winner’s event at The Groucho Club, receiving a package from hybrid book publisher Atmosphere Press.
Unpublished Comedy Novel
The new Unpublished Comedy Novel winner will be published by Hera Books. Runners-up win the offer of a place on the online MA in Comedy Writing at Falmouth University, which is the first of its kind in the country, OR a writing mentorship. Other runners-up receive a place on an MA by ‘Research in Creative Writing’ or a writing mentorship from the University of Hertfordshire, as well as a Platinum Package from Fuzzy Flamingo, a UK-based package publisher bringing insight into regional trends and market expectations. www.fuzzyflamingo.co.uk
Honorary Awards: Game Changer of the year, New Voice award, Witty Influencer award. Previous winners: Jilly Cooper, Ruth Jones, Sharon Horgan and Meera Syal.
KEY DATES:
GROUCHO CLUB Shortlisted Authors CWIP Salon: PRESS INVITED
Tuesday 14 October 2025 – an evening of irreverence and ‘wit lit’ with Helen Lederer - special interview with Cally Beaton and Published Novel shortlisted authors.
GROUCHO CLUB CWIP Winners Event: PRESS INVITED
Monday 3 November 2025, 6:30pm - wit and celebration sparkles! With voices from the likes of Michelle Obama, celebrities, industry influencers, media players and authors.
