Queenie (Carty-Williams novel)
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Founder | Candice Carty-Williams |
| Products | Adult fiction novel |
| Parent | Trapeze (division of Orion) |
Queenie is an adult fiction novel by British writer Candice Carty-Williams, released in 2019 through Trapeze, a division of Orion. The narrative centers on Queenie Jenkins, a dynamic yet challenged 25-year-old British-Jamaican woman experiencing a turbulent year. In 2023, Channel 4 revealed plans for a television series adaptation of Queenie, with Carty-Williams serving as creator and executive producer; the show premiered in June 2024.
Background
The manuscript for Queenie ignited a bidding war among four publishers in 2017, ultimately being secured by Orion for a six-figure amount. Often described as "a black Bridget Jones", Carty-Williams has emphasized in interviews that while Bridget Jones served as an initial reference, Queenie’s story is deeply political due to her cultural identity and personal experiences, setting her apart. On CBS Local, the author characterized the book as both intimate and broadly relatable, drawing inspiration from her own life and those around her.
Reception
Critics widely praised Queenie, labeling it a "witty and lighthearted comedic debut" and "a crucial exploration of everyday racism." Diana Evans referred to it as a "significant political work on black womanhood and black British culture," while Afua Hirsch wrote in Time that Carty-Williams "has transformed a black woman’s narrative into a defining story of our era." Upon its paperback release in February 2020, Kate Saunders of The Times described it as "a humorous, intelligent, and emotionally striking debut novel."
By 2021, UK sales for Queenie reached 153,439 copies, including 34,936 hardbacks and 115,317 paperbacks according to Nielsen BookScan. The book entered the Sunday Times Bestseller hardback list at number two, won the Blackwell's Debut Book of the Year in 2019, and was shortlisted for Book of the Year by retailers such as Waterstones, Foyles, and Goodreads. It also placed second for the Costa First Novel Award.
At the British Book Awards held in June 2020, Queenie earned the title of Book of the Year, marking Carty-Williams as the first black female author to achieve this distinction. While expressing pride in this accomplishment, she also highlighted ongoing challenges related to diversity within the publishing sector. The novel was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2020 and was runner-up for the Comedy Women in Print Prize (CWIP) later that year.
Certain reviewers have pointed out elements within the novel that reflect antisemitic stereotypes.
Adaptation
The television adaptation of Queenie was confirmed by Channel 4 in 2019 with Carty-Williams attached as screenwriter. In August 2021, Channel 4 commissioned an eight-episode drama series with filming commencing in 2022. Dionne Brown has been cast in the lead role, and the series is slated for broadcast in the UK during June 2024.