Arundhati Roy's 'Mother Mary Comes To Me' On Longlist For 2026 Non Fiction Prize

Indian author Arundhati Roy has been longlisted for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction for her memoir Mother Mary Comes to Me. The announcement places her among 16 writers selected for one of the most respected literary recognitions for women writing in English.

The prize is awarded annually and celebrates excellence in writing, strong research, and original narrative voices. It highlights women’s expertise across a wide range of fields and has become an important platform for non-fiction voices globally.

Who Is Arundhati Roy?

Arundhati Roy is one of India’s most internationally known writers and public intellectuals, born 24 November 1961. She gained global recognition after winning the Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel The God of Small Things. Since then, she has built a reputation as a novelist.

She is also a political activist involved in human rights and environmental causes. She was the winner of the 2024 PEN Pinter Prize, given by English PEN, and she named imprisoned British Egyptian writer and activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah as the "Writer of Courage" with whom she chose to share the award.

About Mother Mary Comes To Me

It is centred on the eventful life of her mother, Mary Roy, who is "sharp, restless and charismatic, a visionary ruling with an iron fist" and Arundhati Roy's relations with her. In the author's own words, it is "about my relationship with my mother, about how she made me the kind of writer that I am and then resented it". 

However, the book is also "a search for the roots of Roy’s own evolution into a writer". One commentator termed it a "biography cum autobiography of two remarkable women.

The Competition

This year’s longlist features 16 titles, including seven debut works. The selected books span politics, memoir, science, history, biography and art, reflecting the wide scope of contemporary non-fiction writing. The winner will receive £30,000 along with a limited-edition artwork known as “Charlotte.” The shortlist will be announced on March 25, and the final winner will be revealed on June 11 in London.