Announcing the 2026 shortlist:
six great histories, brilliantly told.
We are delighted to present the Wolfson History Prize 2026 shortlist. Spanning nearly 3,000 years of human history, each of these six exceptional books sheds light on how societies are brought together – or driven apart – in the wake of profound change.
- In turbulent times – when the past itself is often bitterly contested – careful, thoughtful history is ever more important.
Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive, Wolfson Foundation
Meet the judges
- These remarkable six books remind us of the power of history writing, not just to uncover the past but to bring new perspectives and nuance to our understanding of the present.
David Cannadine, Chair of judges
Keep up to date with the prize
"An original, sprightly analysis of the surprisingly overlooked survival of pre-Christian beliefs"
Discover why ‘Silence of the Gods: The Untold History of Europe`s Last Pagan Peoples’ by Francis Young captured the attention of the #WolfsonHistoryPrize panel. @cambridgeuniversitypress 🌿
To round off our #ShortlistSpotlight series, we introduce Francis Young and `Silence of the Gods: The Untold History of Europe`s Last Pagan Peoples` shortlisted for the 2026 #WolfsonHistoryPrize.
Congratulations to Francis Young and @cambridgeuniversitypress 🎊
Every historian has a shelf of favourites. Discover the books that have inspired Selena Wisnom, from a biography of Rome`s most extraordinary woman to the Middle Ages` answer to self-help.
Browse her selection on our @bookshop_org_uk page (linked in bio) 📚
📕 `Gilgamesh` by Sophus Helle
📕 `The Poison King` by Adrienne Mayor
📕 `Agrippina` by Emma Southon
📕 `Alaric the Goth` by Douglas Boin
📕 `Persian Fire` by Tom Holland
📕 `Self Help from the Middle Ages` by Peter Jones
📕 `The Mesopotamian Riddle` by Joshua Hammer
What makes history special? We invited this year’s Wolfson History Prize shortlisted authors to share the perspectives that shaped their books.
Learn more about Selena Wisnom and ‘The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History’ in our Q&A (linked in bio). @allenlanepr
"The library has become a kiln [...] setting their words almost as if in stone"
Hear ‘The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History’ by Selena Wisnom for yourself. Read the full extract on our website (linked in bio) and find out why it`s on this year`s #WolfsonHistoryPrize shortlist. @allenlanepr 🎧
"Wisnom`s book offers a thrilling panorama of ancient Mesopotamian society"
Discover why ‘The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History’ by Selena Wisnom stood out to the #WolfsonHistoryPrize panel. @allenlanepr 📜
This week, our #ShortlistSpotlight turns to Selena Wisnom and ‘The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History’, shortlisted for the 2026 #WolfsonHistoryPrize.
For Selena, research goes beyond the pursuit of knowledge, extending into the re-creation of worlds now unfamiliar to us. Her panoramic view brings ancient Mesopotamian systems and culture vividly back to life.
Congratulations to Selena Wisnom and @allenlanepr 🎊
From electricity’s transformation of modern life to a thought-provoking collection of essays exploring the alternative worlds imagined by anti-colonial thinkers, these are the history books that have inspired Sam Wetherell.
Browse his selection on our @bookshop_org_uk page (linked in bio) 📚
📕 ‘Nature’s Metropolis’ by William Cronon
📕 ‘Black Reconstruction in America’ by W. E. B. Du Bois
📕 ‘Fin-de-Siecle Vienna’ by Carl E. Schorske
📕 ‘Disenchanted Night’ by Wolfgang Schivelbusch
📕 ‘Golden Gulag’ by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
📕 ‘Worldmaking after Empire’ by Adom Getachew
📕 ‘The Mushroom at the End of the World’ by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing
📕 ‘Empire of Guns’ by Priya Satia
📕 ‘Impossible Engineering’ by Chandra Mukerji
