The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction

The UK's premier annual prize for non-fiction books

The Baillie Gifford Prize rewards excellence in non-fiction writing, bringing the best in intelligent reflection on the world to new readers. It covers all non-fiction in the areas of current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts. We celebrate the best in contemporary non-fiction writing as we believe all the best stories are true.

Toby Mundy, Prize Director

The 2024 winner

A huge congratulations to Richard Flanagan who has won the 2024 Prize with his outstanding book, Question 7.

The 25th anniversary prize

1599

A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare

James Shapiro

Published by: Faber & Faber

Find your next favourite read

The prize provides a growing list of books by astonishing authors to inspire, educate and inform.

Shortlist

2021

Fall

John Preston

Longlist

2011

Sex Before the Sexual Revolution

Simon Szreter

A one off documentary

To celebrate 25 years of the prize in 2023, we shared this one-off documentary with you. All The Best Stories Are True explores the history of the prize. From nail-biting moments to life changing stories, the documentary uncovers how the prize started out as the non-fiction rival to the Booker, and what the next two and a half decades hold for readers and writers in a world now steeped in ‘fake news’.