A COMEDY novel that stemmed from a Jersey magazine column about “single-life escapades” in the Island has been shortlisted for a national award that aims to celebrate and encourage witty women authors.
Dara Lutes, who lived in Jersey from the age of 17, has been shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Prize in the unpublished novel category for her book, Generation Ex.
The novel follows the story of 45-year-old Kate, who spirals into revenge, chaos, and self-discovery after being dumped for a Gen Z influencer.
It is described as “an exploration of heartbreak, intergenerational feminism, and the messy reality of growing older without growing up”.
Although Dara now lives in Brighton, her writing career began in Jersey and she still retains close ties to the Island.
Generation Ex began its life locally an auto-fiction column in Gallery Magazine called “Love on The Rocks” about Dara’s “single-life escapades” in the Island.
These extracts evolved into a novel when Dara completed her MA in Creative Writing at Brighton University.
“While I was redrafting, I realised that we don’t see many stories about women in their forties who haven’t ever wanted to have kids or a family and are just fine with it and having a good time,” she said.
Dara added that she is “so excited” to be shortlisted for the Comedy Women In Print prize.
“It’s such a wonderful organisation,” she said. “They really do support you as a writer and make sure that you achieve something.
“Also, just hanging around with other women who love to laugh is exactly my cup of tea.”
The Comedy Women in Print Prize is a literary award for comedy novels written by women.
It was founded in 2018 by comedian Helen Lederer in response to the low number of women awarded the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize, which has only been presented to three women in 18 years.
