Blood River
Tim Butcher
2008 The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction
In the 10th year of the prize, chair of judges Rosie Boycott was joined by an eclectic panel of judges offering a range of literary, journalistic, and academic experience. The list of nominated books included a daring and adventurous journey down the Congo, a discourse on life and death, the biography of an enigmatic genius, V.S. Naipaul, and a dark and grim account of The Troubles.
Longlist announced
16 April 2008
Shortlist announced
15 May 2008
Winner & prize ceremony
15 July 2008
What the judges said“The Suspicions of Mr Whicher is a dramatic page-turning detective yarn of a real-life murder that inspired the birth of modern detective fiction.”
The shortlist
A prestigious shortlist of books are selected each year for the prize.
What the judges said"All six books are ones which changed the way we looked at the world, they are all ones we are eager to pass onto others."
The longlist
The Baillie Gifford Prize rewards excellence in non-fiction writing
Mad, Bad and Sad
Lisa Appignanesi
Miracles of Life: Shanghai to Shepperton
J.G. Ballard
Nothing to be Frightened Of
Julian Barnes
Finding Moonshine
Marcus Du Sautoy
Rudolf Nureyev
Julie Kavanagh
Austerity Britain 1945-1951
David Kynaston
Mrs Woolf and the Servants
Alison Light
Cold Cream
Ferdinand Mount
Watching the Door
Kevin Myers
Confessions of an Eco Sinner
Fred Pearce
Great Hatred: Little Room
Jonathan Powell
A Life of Picasso
John Richardson
The Discovery of France
Graham Robb
The Brother Gardeners
Andrea Wulf
Meet the judges for 2008
The longlist, shortlist and winner is chosen by a panel of independent judges, which changes every year
Rosie Boycott
Former editor of Esquire
Claire Armitstead
Associate Editor (Culture) at The Guardian
Daljit Nagra
Winner of the 2007 Forward Poetry Prize for Best First Poetry Collection
Professor Chris Rapley
2008 winner of the Edinburgh Science Medal
Hannah Rothschild
First female to chair the Board of Trustees of the National Gallery