October 10, 2024, 2:45pm

Today, at an event at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, Peter Hoskin announced the shortlist for the 2024 Baillie Gifford Prize for nonfiction, which recognizes the best books in the category published in English in the UK over the past year.

“The six shortlisted books showcase a breathtaking range of subjects and styles, expand our understanding and challenge our perspectives,” said Isabel Hilton, chair of judges, in a press release. “Each one demonstrates exceptional scholarship and compelling narrative and offers profound insight into some of the most pressing issues of our time. It is a shortlist that we celebrate as a testament to the power of non-fiction to enlighten, engage and inspire us. Choosing a winner will be a daunting task but one that we embrace with enthusiasm.”

The winner will be announced on November 19, and will receive £50,000; each other shortlisted author will be awarded £5,000.

In the meantime, here’s the shortlist:

Rachel Clarke, The Story of a Heart

Richard Flanagan, Question 7

Annie Jacobsen, Nuclear War: A Scenario

Viet Thanh Nguyen, A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir

Sue Prideaux, Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin

David Van Reybrouck, tr. David Colmer and David McKay, Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World