From Nobel laureates to Booker Prize winners, women writers are commanding the world stage

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s recent win of the 2025 Holberg Prize has once again highlighted the contributions of women in literature and academia. The renowned cultural theorist, best known for her essay Can the Subaltern Speak?, joins an elite group of women writers and thinkers who have been honoured for their groundbreaking work. Let's take a look at some of the most distinguished women who have received prestigious global awards for their contributions to literature, criticism, and intellectual discourse.

Beyond the bookshelves: The women who changed the literary game

Toni Morrison made history as the first Black woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy recognised her for her ‘visionary force and poetic import’, particularly in novels such as Beloved and Song of Solomon. Toni’s work explored Black identity, history, and the power of storytelling, making her a literary icon.

Arundhati Roy became the first Indian woman to win the Man Booker Prize for The God of Small Things. Her lyrical prose and deeply political storytelling made an indelible mark on literature. Beyond fiction, Arundhati has also been recognised for her activism and non-fiction writing.

Margaret Atwood has won the Booker Prize twice—first for The Blind Assassin in 2000 and then for The Testaments in 2019. Her novel The Handmaid’s Tale remains a landmark in feminist dystopian literature, influencing both political discourse and pop culture.

The Nigerian writer and feminist thinker won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Half of a Yellow Sun, a novel about the Biafran War. Chimamanda’s work, including Americanah and We Should All Be Feminists, has reshaped contemporary conversations about race, gender, and identity.

Doris Lessing, one of the most influential British novelists of the 20th century, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for her ‘scepticism, fire and visionary power’. Her works, including The Golden Notebook, broke literary conventions and explored themes of feminism, politics, and psychological complexity.

The Polish writer and activist won the Nobel Prize in Literature for her ‘narrative imagination that with encyclopaedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries’. Her works, including Flights and The Books of Jacob, blend history, mythology, and feminist themes.