Barbara Kingsolvers novel Demon Copperhead is enjoying a massive boost in sales after winning the UKs Womens Prize for Fiction. Sales increased by 109% after the win with the publisher Faber putting through a reprint of 55,000. Its total sales of the novel are nearly 60,000 in paperback and almost 20,000 in hardback.
Kingsolver is the first writer to win the prize twice. Presenting the £30,000 prize and statuette called Bessie at a ceremony in London, TV presenter and chair of the judges Louise Minchin, said: Brilliant and visceral, it is storytelling by an author at the top of her game. We were all deeply moved by Demon, his gentle optimism, resilience and determination despite everything being set against him.
An exposé of modern America, its opioid crisis and the detrimental treatment of deprived and maligned communities, Demon Copperhead tackles universal themes from addiction and poverty to family, love, and the power of friendship and art it packs a triumphant emotional punch, and it is a novel that will withstand the test of time.
Set in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, Demon Copperhead is a modern-day reimagining of Charles Dickenss David Copperfield. Earlier this year the novel also won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.