There is a point at which all special treatment becomes patronising. And we have reached that point, I think, when it comes to giving women a leg-up in the business of writing fiction.
Genghis Khan sacked and plundered his way through central Asia in just 20 years; women have conquered the literary world with similar thoroughness and in the same time frame. They dominate – the empire is theirs. Do we really still need a Women’s prize for fiction? These days you might as well ask if we need a men’s prize for chess.
