Theo attends the Comedy Women In Print (CWIP) Prize - sponsored by Ryman
At the stylish Conduit Club in Mayfair, London on July 10th 2019, comedian and writer Helen Lederer hosted the inaugural Comedy Women In Print (CWIP) Prize to crown the witty women writers for the Published and Unpublished prizes. There was also a very special award for the legendary author Jilly Cooper, presented by Theo Paphitis as Chairman of sponsor Ryman.
The shortlisted five novels in the Unpublished category are Cow Girl by Kirsty Eyre, The Lonely Fajita by Abigail Mann, The Ladies’ Guide to Finding Love by Helen Doyle, Love Is Strange by Lotte Mullan and New Year at The Duck and Grapes by Jo Lovett-Turner.
The shortlisted five novels in the Published category are:
The Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine author (HarperCollins) and Why Mummy Swears author (HarperCollins) have been nominated in the published category alongside Asia Mackay for Killing It (Zaffre), YA debut writer Laura Steven for The Exact Opposite of Okay (Egmont) and Balli Kaur Jaswal for Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows (HarperCollins).
The CWIP Prize was launched by Helen to address the lack of exposure and recognition for funny womens’ fiction in the existing book awards, and these did just that.
With a guest list including UK media and a smattering of brilliant authors including Marian Keyes, Katy Brand, Shazia Mirza, Kathy Lette, Jenny Eclair and more, the winners were announced:
In the Published author category, journalist and debut author Laura Steven won the £2,000 prize with The Exact Opposite Of Okay about the issues faced by girls today.
Stage and screenwriter Kirsty Eyre won the Unpublished category for romantic comedy Cow Girl, “an original and modern take on a romantic storyline” set in the unlikely world of dairy farming. Eyre was awarded a publishing contract and £5,000 advance from HarperFiction.
Theo congratulated the winners and highlighted why CWIP was a perfect fit for Ryman focusing on writing, putting pen to paper...and having a bit of a laugh!