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2023 British Academy Book Prize

Awarded annually since 2013, the British Academy’s non-fiction book prize recognises work that searches for truth and reason in difficult places, and shines a light on the connections and divisions that shape cultural identity worldwide.

2023's books

Winner

'Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire' by Nandini Das

Shortlisted

'Red Memory, Living, Remembering and Forgetting China's Cultural Revolution' by Tania Branigan

Shortlisted

'The Violence of Colonial Photography' by Daniel Foliard

Shortlisted

'Black Ghost of Empire: The Long Death of Slavery and the Failure of Emancipation' by Kris Manjapra

Shortlisted

'Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World' by Irene Vallejo

Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living' by Dimitris Xygalatas

Photography commission

To celebrate the 2023 winner Arko Datto, a visual artist and photographer who lives in Kolkata, spent a month travelling across India to many of the locations that are central to 'Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire'.

See the photo commission.

In the media

The winner

The Times of India celebrates the success of Nandini Das

The Bookseller reports on the 2023 winner of the British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding

Kirkus Reviews in the US reveals the 2023 winner of the British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding

The shortlist

The Bookseller announces the 2023 shortlist

Jury Chair Professor Charles Tripp FBA writes in the Bookseller about how academic researchers offer an untapped mine for exciting non-fiction

Literary Hub in the US celebrates the 2023 shortlist

The Times of India highlights the two authors of India origin on the shortlist

The Irish Times' Literary Editor Martin Doyle features the shortlist in his weekly books column

Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia celebrates Irene Vallejo’s nomination

Publishing Perspectives praises the British Academy for being the first non-fiction prize to report on impact

Jury member Professor Madawi Al-Rasheed FBA discusses the shortlist with Five Books editor Sophie Roell

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