Salma El-Wardany has been announced as one of the five judges for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction. The author, presenter, poet, and speaker joins an exceptional panel chaired by former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, alongside poet and novelist Mona Arshi, writer and comedian Cariad Lloyd, and broadcaster Annie Macmanus.
El-Wardany, whose debut novel These Impossible Things was published in a six-figure deal by Grand Central Publishing, brings both literary expertise and a deep commitment to protecting women’s voices to the role. Her work has been featured in anthologies including It’s Not About the Burqa: Muslim Women on Faith, Feminism, Sexuality and Race and Crown Anthology (Lost Poets).
El-Wardany shared the news on Instagram with an emotional post: “Entirely beside myself to be a judge for the 2026 @womensprize for fiction. It’s been the hardest and best secret to keep and I’m very smitten to have bagged the best job in the book world.…Women have fought so hard to tell their stories and it is a tale of blood and sweat. An uphill battle. A constant struggle. And here, now, in the year 2025, when Afghanistan has just banned books written by women from the education system, it is so horrifyingly clear how precarious a position we are in.…How necessary the @womensprize is. How much fight we still have ahead of us. How hard we must work to protect, cherish, and amplify the stories of women. This is a job I take very seriously and hold so close to my heart. It’s an honour to be one of the judges and I will do everything in my power to protect women’s stories.”
The 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist will be announced on 4 March, with the shortlist on 22 April. The winner will be revealed on 11 June 2026.