Past winners
History of the prize
The British Academy Book Prize was launched in 2013 to recognise outstanding books in the humanities and social sciences.
Since then, the Prize has recognised 50 distinguished books on its shortlist and celebrated 13 winners.
Formerly known as British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding until 2023, each year a distinguished judging panel selects a shortlist of up to six books that are essential to understanding humanity and change how we see today’s world.
Each book shortlisted for the Prize combines high-quality research with powerful, accessible storytelling to encourage readers to rethink our relationships with the world.
The Prize supports the mission of the British Academy to deepen public understanding of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences and engage the public in debate about the biggest questions facing society.
Explore the library of winning and shortlisted books below.
Celebrating 10 years
For the 10-year anniversary of the British Academy Book Prize, we asked previously shortlisted and winning authors to revisit their books and reflect on key themes in their work.