The Women's Prize Trust has released the shortlist for the 2026 Women's Prize for Nonfiction, which "promotes excellence in writing, robust research, original narrative voices and accessibility, showcasing women's expertise across a range of fields," and is a sister prize to the Women's Prize for Fiction. The award is sponsored by Findmypast.
The winner, who will be named on June 11 at the Women's Prize Trust's summer party in London (along with the Women's Prize for Fiction), receives £30,000 (about $40,130) and a limited-edition artwork known as the "Charlotte," both given by the Charlotte Aitken Trust. This year's shortlisted titles are:
The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People's History of Afghanistan by Lyse Doucet
Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health by Daisy Fancourt
Artists, Siblings, Visionaries: The Lives and Loves of Gwen and Augustus John by Judith Mackrell
Hotel Exile: Paris in the Shadow of War by Jane Rogoyska
Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy
Nation of Strangers: Rebuilding Home in the 21st Century by Ece Temelkuran
Chair of judges Thangam Debbonaire said: "Whittling our remarkable longlist down to just six titles was by no means an easy task, but after careful consideration, we are proud to present a shortlist that celebrates six exceptional books and six hugely talented writers, and offers readers collectively a timely and timeless interrogation of our world today. Our shortlist shows the power and necessity of women's writing at a time when recent statistics suggest a decline in nonfiction print sales in the U.K.. These books are an urgent antidote to mis- and dis-information, written with high standards of scholarship. They offer rich and original insights, in what often feels like a fragmented and uncertain world. They are six books of authority, told with humanity."