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Craig Brown
In 2023 we celebrated our 25th anniversary by holding a Winner of Winners Award to recognise the outstanding work of the previous 24 prizewinners. This special one-off award crowned the best work of non-fiction from the last 25 years of the prize.
The judges of the Winner of Winners Award were: New Statesman editor-in-chief, Jason Cowley (chair); academic, critic and broadcaster, Shahidha Bari; journalist, author and academic, Sarah Churchwell; and biographer and critic Frances Wilson.
Together they selected a shortlist from the 24 previous winners of the prize (announced on 9 March), before choosing an overall winner. The winner was announced on 27 April at an event held at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
The anniversary was also marked by a one-off documentary – All The Best Stories Are True – which explores the very best in non-fiction writing over the past 25 years. 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 25 years hold for readers and writers in a world now steeped in ‘fake news’. It is available to watch on the Baillie Gifford Prize YouTube this February.
In addition to this, Waterstones celebrated the 25th anniversary with displays of all 24 previous winners, paying tribute to the Baillie Gifford Prize’s history and influence as the biggest UK-based non-fiction book prize.
To celebrate 25 years of the prize, we are so excited to share 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’
Shortlist announced
9 March 2023
Winner & prize ceremony
27 April 2023
Chair of judges, Jason Cowley said"1599 is a remarkable and compelling book. A history of four masterpieces and of so much more, it produces a life of Shakespeare, about whom so little is known, through a ingenious fusion of history, politics, and literary criticism"
The previous winners shortlisted for the Winner of Winners award
Chair of judges, Jason Cowley said:"It was a pleasure to read and discuss at length and in detail all the prize-winning books and it was challenging for us to choose six"
The one-off award marks the 25th anniversary of the prize by recognising the outstanding work of all previous 24 prizewinners
27 April 2023
9 March 2023
19 January 2023
16 May 2023
27 April 2023
20 April 2023
14 April 2023
12 April 2023
12 April 2023
23 March 2023
13 March 2023
3 March 2023