Two weeks left for submissions to the Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize for Global Cultural Understanding

The closing date for submissions for the Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize for Global Cultural Understanding 2020 – the British Academy’s prestigious non-fiction book prize – is Wednesday 1 April.

The jury, chaired by writer and broadcaster Professor Patrick Wright, will select a shortlist of up to six books to be announced on Thursday 10 September and the winner will be announced at a ceremony held at the British Academy on Wednesday 28 October.

The £25,000 Prize is awarded annually for an outstanding contribution to global cultural understanding – illuminating the interconnections and divisions shaping cultural identity worldwide.

Wright, who is Emeritus Professor of Literature and History at King’s College, London, is joined on the panel by Channel 4 News presenter, Fatima Manji; Professor Rana Mitter FBA, historian and political scientist; Professor Dame Henrietta Moore FBA, social anthropologist; and writer Madeleine Bunting.  

Jury Chair, Professor Patrick Wright FBA comments:

“At a time when the conversation is very much about global borders, there seems no better moment than now to consider the very best books that address issues about the way that we think about the world and the interconnections of its cultures.”

The Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize was awarded in 2019 to British historian Toby Green for A Fistful of Shells: West Africa from the Rise of the Slave Trade to the Age of Revolution – a ground-breaking history of West Africa.  

The Prize was founded and is generously sponsored by the neuroscientist and International Relations scholar Professor Nayef Al-Rodhan. It was first awarded in 2013.

Submissions are accepted through the online nomination form.

For enquiries about submissions, please contact: [email protected] with the subject line: 'Query: Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize 2020'.