Submissions for the Wolfson History Prize 2024 are open from 7 December 2023 to 16 January 2024.
The Wolfson History Prize has today announced the opening of submissions for 2024. The Wolfson Foundation is calling for publishers to submit their catalogues for consideration for the next prize year, with submissions open until 16 January 2024.
The Wolfson History Prize shines a light on books that combine excellence in research with readability for a general audience. Books are judged on the extent to which they are carefully researched, well-written and accessible to the non-specialist reader. The prize, now entering its 52nd year, awards a total of £75,000, with the winner receiving £50,000, and each of the five shortlisted authors receiving £5,000.
Paul Ramsbottom, chief executive of the Wolfson Foundation, said: “We are delighted to open submissions for the 2024 Wolfson History Prize. The best history books bring the past to life and, as each new prize year demonstrates, history writing in the UK remains lively, impressive and important as ever.
The prize looks forward to welcoming submissions which stimulate interest and debate in subjects across the full spectrum of history, and which remind readers of the myriad ways history touches all of our lives.”
In 2023, the Wolfson History Prize was won by Halik Kochanski for her book Resistance: The Underground War in Europe, 1939-1945 (Allen Lane). Halik joins a distinguished line up of previous winners including: Mary Beard, William Dalrymple, Antonia Fraser, Antony Beevor, Simon Schama, Sudhir Hazareesingh, Amanda Vickery and Clare Jackson.
A judging panel of leading historians, chaired by David Cannadine and including Mary Beard, Richard Evans, Sudhir Hazareesingh, Carole Hillenbrand and Diarmaid MacCulloch, will work together to narrow down the very best historical non-fiction writing in the UK from the past year to a shortlist of just six books, from which one winner will be selected.
Submissions and eligibility
From today, publishers can submit their catalogues for consideration for the Wolfson History Prize 2024, with the window for submissions open until 16 January 2024. Alongside their submission, publishers can highlight up to six suggested books (per imprint) from the catalogues that the judges may wish to consider.
To be eligible for the Wolfson History Prize, books must cover any aspect of history and be published in English in the UK between 1 January and 31 December 2023. Authors should be resident in the UK in the year of publication, and provided they meet the residency qualification, they can be any nationality. Authors who have previously won the Wolfson History Prize are not eligible to be submitted again. Authors who have been shortlisted in previous years, but not named as an overall winner, are eligible. There is no fee for submitting catalogues for the prize. Submissions must be received by 16 January 2024.
