Baillie Gifford Prize

In the final episode of our 2026 Read Smart shortlist series, Prize Director Toby Mundy speaks with Anand Gopal about his book Days of Love and Rage: A Story of Revolution, shortlisted for the 2026 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. In the Syrian city of Manbij, ordinary men and women set out to build a democracy amid revolution. Through their experiences of friendship, hope, sacrifice and bet...

Our Read Smart shortlist series continues! In this episode, Prize Director Toby Mundy speaks with Nicholas Boggs about his book Baldwin: A Love Story, shortlisted for the 2026 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. The first major biography of James Baldwin in three decades, this intimate portrait explores the relationships that shaped his life and writing. Drawing on newly uncovered archives, ori...

Our Read Smart shortlist series continues! In this episode, Prize Director Toby Mundy speaks with Andrea Wulf about her book The Traveller: The Revolutionary Life of George Forster and his Search for Humanity, shortlisted for the 2026 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. At just seventeen, George Forster joined Captain Cook’s second voyage around the world. What followed was a life of adventure,...

Our Read Smart shortlist series continues! In this episode, Prize Director Toby Mundy speaks with Matthew Sweet about his book The Great Dictator: A Life of Barbara Cartland, shortlisted for the 2026 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. Famous for her pink dresses, extravagant eyelashes and hundreds of romantic novels, Barbara Cartland cultivated an unmistakable public image. Drawing on her priv...

Our Read Smart shortlist series continues! In this episode, Prize Director Toby Mundy speaks with Edmund Richardson about his book Alexander: God, King, Man, shortlisted for the 2026 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. Drawing on new discoveries and sources in twelve ancient languages, Richardson brings us closer to the man behind the myth of Alexander the Great. From his uncertain beginnings a...

We’re back with a brand new series of the Read Smart podcast! In this episode, Prize Executive Director Toby Mundy speaks with Author Patrick Radden Keefe, shortlisted for the 2026 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction with his new book London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth. In his inimitably gripping and forensic style, Keefe follows Zac’s parents on...

It's the final episode of the Read Smart podcast hearing from our 6 shortlisted authors! In this episode, Prize Executive Director Toby Mundy speaks with Adam Weymouth about Lone Wolf: Walking the Faultlines of Europe, one of the shortlisted works for the 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. Weymouth follows the journey of a wolf across Europe, weaving together nature writing, identity and...

It's Episode 5 of the Read Smart podcast! In this episode, Prize Executive Director Toby Mundy speaks with biographer and historian Richard Holmes about The Boundless Deep: Young Tennyson, Science and the Crisis of Belief, a shortlisted title for the 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. Holmes charts Alfred Lord Tennyson’s early years against the backdrop of science, faith and poetic ambiti...

It’s time for Episode 4 of the Read Smart podcast! In this episode, Prize Executive Director Toby Mundy speaks with journalist and author Jason Burke about The Revolutionists, shortlisted for the 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. Burke examines the ideological ferment of the 1970s, exploring the militants, activists and ideas that shaped modern revolt. In this conversation, he explores h...

We’re diving into Episode 3 of the Read Smart podcast! In this episode, Prize Executive Director Toby Mundy speaks with acclaimed writer Helen Garner about How to End a Story, shortlisted for the 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. Garner reflects on memory, mortality and the craft of turning life into narrative, drawing out the tender, awkward and surprising moments that shape a life on t...

We’re back with episode 2 of the Read Smart podcast! In this episode, Prize Executive Director Toby Mundy speaks with author and historian Justin Marozzi, shortlisted for the 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction for his book Captives and Companions: A History of Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Islamic World. Marozzi traces 1,500 years of slavery across three continents, revealing how the...

We’re back with a brand new series of the Read Smart podcast! In this episode, Prize Executive Director Toby Mundy speaks with Author Frances Wilson, shortlisted for the 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction with her new book Electric Spark: The Enigma of Muriel Spark. Frances Wilson unravels the life of Muriel Spark - novelist, poet, Catholic convert and master of literary mischief, whose li...

Tune into the final Read Smart podcast of the year, where Georgina Godwin speaks to the Baillie Gifford Prize 2024 winner, Richard Flanagan. Hear more from Richard about his origins as an author, alongside how the events from both history and his personal life inspired the ‘chain reactions’ explored throughout Question 7. Listen now to hear all about it. This podcast is generously supported by the...

Tune into our final 'In Conversation' podcast, where we chat to Việt Thanh Nguyễn, who has been shortlisted for his book, A Man of Two Faces, which masterfully intertwines personal and historical narratives with humour and lyricism. Nguyễn's work reflects on memory, the duality of identity, and the American experience. Listen now to hear all about it. This podcast is generously supported by the Bl...

Join us for the next episode of The Read Smart podcast, as we welcome David Van Reybrouck, acclaimed author of Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World. Revolusi, a bestseller in the Netherlands and now shortlisted for The Baillie Gifford Prize, offers a gripping narrative of Indonesia's fight for independence and its impact on global decolonisation. Discover the untold stories of a r...

Tune into our next 'In Conversation' podcast, where we chat to Richard Flanagan, who has been shortlisted for his brilliant book, Question 7. From the affair between H.G. Wells and Rebecca West to developments in 1930s nuclear physics, Flanagan has crafted a poignant love song to his island home, his parents, and the haunting echoes of the past in this book. Through a hypnotic blend of dream, hist...

Tune into our next 'In Conversation' podcast, where we chat to Annie Jacobsen, who has been shortlisted for the prize this year with Nuclear War: A Scenario. Jacobsen’s book explores the chilling minute-by-minute protocols that would unfold if a rogue state launched a nuclear missile at the United States and is a gripping exploration of nuclear conflict, sparking crucial discussions on global secu...

Tune into our next 'In Conversation' podcast, where we chat to Dr Rachel Clarke about her shortlisted book, The Story of a Heart, which intertwines the poignant tales of two children connected by a heart transplant. Hear Dr Clarke discuss the dedication of healthcare professionals and incredible medical advancements that make miracles like these possible, and why she believes conversations around...

Tune in to the first of our 'In Conversation' podcast episodes, where we speak to all six of this year's shortlisted authors about their extraordinary works of non-fiction. First up, Georgina Godwin speaks to Sue Prideaux, author of 'Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin'. Prideaux's award-winning works have captivated readers worldwide. From her James Tait Black Memorial Prize-winning biography of E...

Tune into the latest episode of The Read Smart Podcast, where host Georgina Godwin is joined by Heather Brooke, a member of this year's judging panel, to discuss the 2024 shortlist. Why did these six books stand out from the rest of the longlist? Listen now to hear all about it. The 2024 shortlist: - The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke - Question 7 by Richard Flanagan - Nuclear War: A Scenario b...

Tune into the latest episode of the Read Smart podcast, where two of our judges – Peter Hoskin and Chitra Ramaswamy – explore the 2024 longlist with our host, Georgina Godwin. Spanning the subjects of displacement, colonialism and nuclear war, this year's longlist unapologetically holds up a mirror to our contemporary world. Listen now to hear all about it. The podcast is generously supported by t...

Tune in to the next episode of The Read Smart Podcast, where Georgina Godwin speaks to Christina Lamb and Catrina Davies about the complex and delicate matter of exploring mental health and private contemplation on the public literary stage. Listen now to hear all about it. This podcast is generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. To keep up with the Prize news all year round, follo...

Tune in to the next episode of the Read Smart Podcast, where 2022 Baillie Gifford Prize judge, Georgina Godwin, speaks to 2023 winner John Vaillant, social geographer Danny Dorling and writer and award-winning journalist Jennifer Nadel about the crucial topics which are often overlooked by mainstream media. Which topic do you think is neglected most - and why? Listen now to hear all about it. This...

Join us for the latest episode of The Read Smart podcast, where host Razia Iqbal speaks to Isabel Hilton, 2024 Chair of Judges and founder of China Dialogue and Tania Branigan, The Guardian’s foreign leader writer. Together, Razia and our guests discuss the complex cultural legacy of China, alongside the opportunities and challenges the country has encountered and continues to face. Listen now to...

Join us for the next episode of The Read Smart podcast, where host Razia Iqbal joins writer, historian and former Baillie Gifford Prize judge, Ruth Scurr and Allan Jenkins, editor of Observer Food Monthly to discuss the cultural, historical and personal significance of gardens within the non-fiction landscape. Our guests explore how the action of gardening can imitate life, whilst providing a sour...