£50k Wolfson History Prize shortlist announced

In the UK, the shortlist for the £50,000 (A$98,500) Wolfson History Prize has been announced.

The shortlisted works of history are:

• African and Caribbean People in Britain: A history (Hakim Adi, Allen Lane)
• Resistance: The Underground War in Europe 1939–1945 (Halik Kochanski, Allen Lane)
• Portable Magic: A history of books and their readers (Emma Smith, Allen Lane)
• The World the Plague Made: The Black Death and the rise of Europe (James Belich, Princeton University Press)
• The Perils of Interpreting: The extraordinary lives of two translators between Qing China and the British Empire (Henrietta Harrison, Princeton University Press)
• Vagabonds: Life on the streets of Nineteenth Century London (Oskar Jensen, Duckworth Books).

Each of the shortlisted authors receives £5000 (A$9850).

The UK’s most valuable nonfiction writing prize, the annual Wolfson History Prize was created to ‘champion the best and most accessible historical writing and to highlight the importance of history to modern life’. The prize is run by independent charity the Wolfson Foundation, which awards grants in the fields of science, health, education, arts and the humanities.

Last year’s prize was won by Clare Jackson for Devil-Land: England under siege, 1588–1688 (Allen Lane). The winner of this year’s award will be announced on 13 November.

Category: Awards International news