The Islamic Enlightenment
Christopher de Bellaigue
2017 The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction
The 19th edition of the prize hosted an international list of books, with the UK, US, Morocco, Bulgaria, and Ireland all represented. The titles chosen by the judging panel, chaired by Sir Peter Bazalgette, ranged from literary biography and history to popular science, memoir and polemic.
Longlist announced
8 September 2017
Shortlist announced
6 October 2017
Winner & prize ceremony
16 November 2017
What the judges said“It’s the personal story of a gay man, the history of the prejudice that gay men faced during the AIDS epidemic and the worldwide scientific story of the search for a treatment for AIDS.”
The shortlist
What the judges said“The exceptional shortlist for the 2017 Baillie Gifford Prize covers religion, culture, science and sexuality... and that’s just for starters. But what all the six books have in common is that they’re incredibly well-written, they’re really enjoyable and they tell great stories.”
The longlist
What the judges said"We’ve got history, science, biography, polemic and memoir. But two things link them all – they’re wonderfully well-written and they’re really contemporary.”
Meet the judges for 2017
The longlist, shortlist and winner is chosen by a panel of independent judges, which changes every year
Sir Peter Bazalgette
Former Chairman of the Royal Television Society
Anjana Ahuja
Science Commentator at the Financial Times
Ian Bostridge
Nominated for 15 Grammys
Sarah Churchwell
Longlisted for the Orwell Prize for Journalism
Razia Iqbal
BBC News journalist and former presenter of Newshour
