akwaeke emeziKonto zweryfikowane

Popping back in to kick a hornet’s nest My novels will not be submitted for the Women’s Prize. Their origin story is that men were excluding them w/the Booker, so when FRESHWATER was longlisted, I hoped it was a sign that they gave thought to who *they* were excluding.

That visibility brought a ton of violent shit my way, they got quite some publicity from it, and decided to change...nothing. I hadn’t even thought about a replay () until my publisher reached out to ask how I wanted to proceed with VIVEK.

They’d already been in touch with the Women’s Prize, who had informed them: “The information we would require from you regards Akwaeke Emezi's sex as defined by law.” Ew.

Forget about me—I don’t want this prize—but anyone who uses this kind of language does not fuck with trans women either, so when they say it’s for women, they mean cis women. And yes, this does mean that them longlisting FW was transphobic.

It’s fine for me not to be eligible because I’m not a woman! But you not about to be out here on some ‘sex as defined by law’ like that’s not a weapon used against trans women.