A file photo of Indian writer Arundhati Roy, who is one of the finalists for the Women’s Prize for Nonfiction 2026. Photo: AFP
Two books about hotels as places of risk and refuge in wartime are among finalists announced on Wednesday for the Women’s Prize for Nonfiction, set up to help rectify a gender imbalance in publishing.
The Finest Hotel In Kabul: A People’s History Of Afghanistan by Canadian journalist Lyse Doucet and British author Jane Rogoyska’s Hotel Exile: Paris In The Shadow Of War are on a six-book shortlist announced Wednesday for the 30,000 pound (approximately RM159,000) prize.
Also in the running are Indian author Arundhati Roy’s memoir Mother Mary Comes To Me and Turkish writer Ece Temelkuran’s exploration of migration Nation Of Strangers: Rebuilding Home In The 21st Century.
The list is completed by two books about art by British writers - Art Cure: The Science Of How The Arts Transform Our Health by Daisy Fancourt and Judith Mackrell’s Artists, Siblings, Visionaries: The Lives And Loves Of Gwen And Augustus John.
Labour Party politician Thangam Debbonaire, who is chairing the judging panel, said the finalists "are six books of authority, told with humanity.”
"These books are an urgent antidote to mis- and dis-information, written with high standards of scholarship,” she said. "They offer rich and original insights, in what often feels like a fragmented and uncertain world.”
The award is a sister to the 31-year-old Women’s Prize for Fiction and is open to female English-language writers from any country in any nonfiction genre. It was established in 2024 in response to statistics showing men in Britain buy more nonfiction than women, and write more high-profile nonfiction books.
In 2022, only 26.5% of nonfiction books reviewed in Britain’s newspapers were by women, and male writers dominated established nonfiction writing prizes.
Last year’s winner was British physician Rachel Clarke for The Story Of A Heart, which explores the human drama behind organ donation.
Winners of both nonfiction and fiction prizes will be announced on June 11 at a ceremony in London. - AP
