The Prize announces 2024 shortlist

Rachel Clarke, Richard Flanagan, Annie Jacobsen, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Sue Prideaux and David Van Reybrouck are today, Thursday 10 October, announced as the six authors shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2024. The shortlist was announced this evening by 2024 prize judge, Peter Hoskin, at an event at Cheltenham Literature Festival.

The prize recognises and rewards the best of non-fiction and is open to authors of any nationality. The winning author will receive £50,000, with the other shortlisted authors each receiving £5,000, bringing the total prize value to £75,000.

The shortlist of six books was chosen by this year’s judging panel: journalist, broadcaster and founder of China Dialogue, Isabel Hilton (chair); author and investigative journalist, Heather Brooke; comment and culture editor for New Scientist, Alison Flood; culture editor of Prospect, Peter Hoskin; writer and critic, Tomiwa Owolade; and author, restaurant critic and journalist, Chitra Ramaswamy. Their selection was made from 349 books published between 1 November 2023 and 31 October 2024.

The titles on this year’s shortlist are:

Isabel Hilton, chair of judges, says:

“The six shortlisted books showcase a breathtaking range of subjects and styles, expand our understanding and challenge our perspectives. 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.”

With his shortlisting, author Richard Flanagan is still in the running to become the first author to “win the double” of both the Baillie Gifford and Booker Prizes. Beginning at a love hotel by Japan's Inland Sea and ending by a river in Tasmania, Question 7 is about the choices we make about love and the chain reaction that follows. Exploring the value of life, Flanagan tackles far-ranging personal and historical topics, from the atomic bomb to his own near-death experience.

Pulitzer Prize winner, Viet Thanh Nguyen also makes the list with a highly personal memoir. In A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial Viet Thanh Nguyen rewinds the film of his own life, reflecting on his search for belonging, covering everything from the Vietnam War and his family’s refugee journey, to Hollywood. Juxtaposing a light touch and often funny tone with challenging issues, the memoir explores themes of identity, redemption, memory and the cultural dissonance of being both Vietnamese and American.

Asian history and colonialism are also key themes in David Van Reybrouck’s Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World. Translated by David Colmer and David McKay, Van Reybrouck masterful explores the epic revolution that sparked the decolonisation of the modern world, with Indonesia becoming the first colonised country to declare its independence after the Second World War. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and eye-witness testimonies, Revolusi places Indonesia’s fight for independence in its rightful global context, highlighting its impact on decolonisation movements around the world.

Extraordinary original research is combined with thrilling formal innovation by shortlisted author Annie Jacobsen in Nuclear War: A Scenario. Based on dozens of new interviews with military and civilian experts, the book explores what would happen, minute by minute, if nuclear missiles were launched at the Pentagon. It presents a terrifying insight into the protocols of the US national security apparatus and how split-second decisions might trigger catastrophic consequences.

Two authors are recognised by the prize for a second time: Rachel Clarke (longlisted in 2020) and Sue Prideaux (shortlisted in 2012). In Story of a Heart, Clarke tells the true story of two families connected by a heart transplant, exploring how one family's grief can be transformed into a lifesaving gift. Through an exploration of the medical advances that make such transplants possible and the moral complexities surrounding organ donation, Clarke examines the profound resilience of the human spirit and the lifesaving power of extraordinary generosity.

In Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin, Sue Prideaux re-examines the adventurous and complicated life of artist Paul Gauguin, from his privileged upbringing in Peru, to his tumultuous youth in France and his transformative experiences in the Paris art scene.

Through these narratives, Prideaux illuminates Gauguin’s focus on indigenous cultures, his relentless pursuit of artistic freedom and his complex legacy as a trailblazing figure in the art world.

The shortlisted authors will be interviewed on The Baillie Gifford Prize Read Smart podcast, generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. All previous episodes are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and SoundCloud.

The winner will be announced on Tuesday 19 November at an award ceremony generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. The announcement will also be livestreamed across the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction social channels.