Arundhati Roy and Lyse Doucet Lead Women's Prize for Nonfiction Shortlist
Renowned novelist Arundhati Roy and BBC correspondent Lyse Doucet are among the six authors shortlisted for the prestigious Women's Prize for Nonfiction. The shortlist, announced recently, features a diverse range of works exploring themes from identity and exile to art and health. The prize, established in 2024, awards £30,000 to the winner and aims to address the persistent gender imbalance in UK nonfiction prize winners.
Shortlisted Authors and Their Works
The shortlist includes Arundhati Roy for her memoir Mother Mary Comes to Me, which delves into identity, motherhood, and the creative process. Lyse Doucet is recognised for The Finest Hotel in Kabul, a poignant history of Afghanistan told through the lens of Kabul's InterContinental hotel. Judith Mackrell's Artists, Siblings, Visionaries offers a dual biography of British artists Gwen and Augustus John.
Jane Rogoyska's Hotel Exile examines the history of Paris's Hotel Lutetia during World War II. Ece Temelkuran's Nation of Strangers explores exile, migration, and belonging, while Daisy Fancourt's Art Cure investigates how the arts can enhance health and wellbeing.
Addressing Gender Imbalance in Nonfiction
The Women's Prize for Nonfiction was created in response to research revealing that only 35.5% of winners across seven major UK nonfiction awards over the past decade were women. New data released alongside the shortlist shows that while female authors are gaining ground in genres like popular science and philosophy, men still dominate categories such as business, sport, and politics.
Thangam Debbonaire, chair of the judging panel, praised the shortlist, stating, "These books are an urgent antidote to mis- and disinformation, written with high standards of scholarship. They offer rich and original insights in what often feels like a fragmented and uncertain world."
Judging Panel and Prize Details
The judging panel, led by Debbonaire, includes engineer and author Roma Agrawal, Neom Wellbeing founder Nicola Elliott, novelist Nina Stibbe, and crown court judge Nicola Williams. The winner will be announced on 11 June, alongside the winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction. The recipient will receive £30,000 and a limited-edition artwork known as the Charlotte.
Last year's prize was awarded to Dr Rachel Clarke for The Story of a Heart, while the inaugural winner was Naomi Klein for Doppelganger. The longlist for this year's prize featured additional notable works, including books by Barbara Demick, Jenny Evans, and Lady Hale.
