''Queenie'' is a

new adult New adult (NA) fiction is a developing genre of fiction with protagonists in the 18–29 age bracket. St. Martin's Press first coined the term in 2009, when they held a special call for "fiction similar to young adult fiction (YA) that can be publ ...

novel written by British author

Candice Carty-Williams Candice Carty-Williams (born 21 July 1989) is a British writer, best known for her 2019 debut novel, ''Queenie (novel), Queenie''. She has written for publications including ''The Guardian'', ''i-D'', ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', ''The Sunday Ti ...

and published by an imprint of Trapeze published by Orion in 2019. The novel is about the life and loves of Queenie Jenkins, a vibrant, troubled 25-year-old British-Jamaican woman who is not having a very good year.

Background

In 2017 ''Queenie'' was the subject of an auction between four publishers and was eventually acquired for a six-figure sum by Orion. Although it was marketed as "a black

Bridget Jones Bridget Rose Jones is a fictional character created by British writer Helen Fielding. Jones first appeared in Fielding's ''Bridget Jones's Diary'' column in ''The Independent'' in 1995, which did not carry any byline. Thus, it seemed to be an actu ...

", Carty-Williams herself said in an interview in ''

Stylist Stylist can refer to: Occupations * Automotive stylist or car stylist, a person involved in designing the appearance and ergonomics of automobiles * Food stylist, a person who makes food look attractive in photographs * Hair stylist, a person w ...

'' magazine: "That's how I thought of her in the beginning, too. But this book is also naturally political just because of who Queenie is. She's not Bridget Jones. She could never be." Speaking on

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, Carty-Williams further explained: "It's such a personal story, but it is one that is universal as well....It's not autobiographical, but it’s themes that I've borrowed from my life and my friends' lives."

Reception

''Queenie'' received much positive critical attention, described by reviewers as both a "smart and breezy comic debut" and "astutely political, an essential commentary on everyday racism" According to

Diana Evans Diana Omo Evans FRSL (born 1972) is a British novelist, journalist and critic who was born and lives in London. Evans has written three full-length novels. Her first novel, ''26a'', published in 2005, won the Orange Award for New Writers, the ...

, ''Queenie'' is an "important political tome of black womanhood and black British life, a rare perspective from the margins", and

Afua Hirsch Afua Hirsch (born 1981) is a British writer and broadcaster. She has worked as a journalist for ''The Guardian'' newspaper, and was the Social Affairs and Education Editor for Sky News from 2014 until 2017. Early life Afua Hirsch was born in ...

wrote in ''

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'' magazine: "Carty-Williams has taken a black woman’s story and made it a story of the age". On the paperback publication of ''Queenie'' in February 2020,

Kate Saunders Kate Saunders (born 4 May 1960 in London) is an English writer, actress and journalist. She has won the Betty Trask Award and the Costa Children's Book Award and been twice shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Biography Kate Saunders is the da ...

wrote in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'': "This is a funny, clever, heartbreaking lightning bolt of a first novel, by a writer bristling with talent." As of 2021, according to

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UK, the novel has sold 153,439 copies; 34,936 copies in hardback and 115,317 copies in paperback. ''Queenie'' entered the ''

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'' Bestseller hardback chart at number two, went on to win the

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Debut Book of the Year 2019 award and was shortlisted as Book of the Year by

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and

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, as well as being runner-up for the Costa First Novel Award. At the

British Book Awards The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by ''The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the National ...

in June 2020 ''Queenie'' won the Book of the Year category, while

Bernardine Evaristo Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo, (born 28 May 1959) is a British author and academic. Her novel ''Girl, Woman, Other'', jointly won the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood's ''The Testaments'', making her the first woman with Black ...

was chosen as Author of the Year, making them the first black authors to win the top prizes. Carty-Williams commented that while she was proud to have won the accolade, "I'm also sad and confused that I'm the first black AND female author to have won this award since it began." She also stated: "Overall, this win makes me hopeful that although I'm the first, the industry are waking up to the fact that I shouldn't and won't be the last." ''Queenie'' was selected for the longlist for the

Women's Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's m ...

2020. In September 2020 the novel was runner-up in the Comedy Women in Print Prize (CWIP).

Adaptation

A TV adaptation of ''Queenie'' has been announced as being in development for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

, with Carty-Williams as the screenwriter. In August 2021, it was reported that the channel had commissioned an eight-episode drama series, with production starting in 2022.

References

{{reflist 2019 debut novels British Book Award-winning works Orion Books books 2019 British novels