June 15th 2023.
Barbara Kingsolver has made history as the only woman to ever win the Women's Prize for Fiction twice. Her latest novel, Demon Copperhead, was named the winner last night by Louise Minchin at the Women's Prize for Fiction Awards.
Demon Copperhead is a reimagining of Charles Dickens' David Copperfield, set in modern times in the Appalachian Mountains. It follows a young boy who navigates foster care, labour exploitation, addiction, love and loss.
Metro spoke to Barbara after she accepted the award. She told Metro, "I wanted to write the great Appalachian novel. It's a rural economically depressed region that's really very much looked down on in the US. I wanted to tell the story of how this happened to us and how resilient we are, how it's amazing that we are still standing and the beautiful parts of our culture and community and nature."
Barbara admitted that she wasn't sure how to start the book, so while in the UK at the end of her last book tour, she visited the Bleak House in Kent, which is where Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield.
"I had this ghostly visit with him," Barbara said as she recounted her time at that hotel. "I was sitting at his desk thinking 'who wants to read about orphans and poverty' and I heard him say 'I do, they will' and I really truly heard him and felt his vision and I heard him say, 'you have to do this and let the child tell the story'".
"That night on that desk, on Charles Dickens' desk, I got my notebook and started writing. It's crazy right, I don't usually talk to dead people, like ever. It really felt like, not just permission, I really felt like he was saying 'you go, girl'."
It took Barbara three years to finish the novel and at 68 she feels like she is "at the peak of my career".
When it came to giving a word of advice to aspiring writers, Barbara had a rather niche piece tip: "Don't smoke, because people go to literary fiction for wisdom and wisdom comes with age, so whatever you can do to help yourself live longer, do that. I'm so glad I'm not a model or an athlete."
"Think about what you have to say. Find what it is that matters most to you, find that passion that will sit you down in a chair and bring you back, day after day after day for the years it takes."
Chair of Judges, author and journalist Louise Minchin said: "An expose 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."
Barbara Kingsolver has made history and achieved an incredible feat. Demon Copperhead is an inspiring novel that has won the Women's Prize for Fiction and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It is a testament to the power of storytelling and a reminder of the resilience and beauty of the Appalachian culture.
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