Key dates for the 2015 edition of the Samuel Johnson Prize

The Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2015

·         Longlist - Tuesday 22 September

·         Shortlist - Sunday 11 October

·         Winner - Monday 2 November

Since its inception in 1999, the Samuel Johnson Prize has cemented its status as the UK’s premier non-fiction prize. The award is worth £20,000 to the winning author, and £1,000 to those on the shortlist. The 2014 winner, H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald (Jonathan Cape) was the first memoir to win the prize in its 16-year history. Following the win, both its hardback and paperback soared to number one in the UK bestseller lists and top ten in the US. In January the book was named the 2014 Costa Book of the Year, and is now set to hit the big screen with the news that film rights have been acquired by actress Lena Headey, star of television series “Game of Thrones”.

The chair of judges for 2015 is Pulitzer prize-winning historian and journalist Anne Applebaum, who is supported by Associate Editor at The Economist Emma Duncan, New Scientist Editor Sumit Paul-Choudhury, Oxford University’s Professor Rana Mitter and former Controller of Film and Drama and head of Film 4 Tessa Ross.