The British Academy’s international non-fiction book prize Six writers – from the UK, USA and India Channel 4 News’ Fatima Manji to chair event for shortlisted writers Winner announced 30 October “Each of the writers nominated for this year’s prize encourages the reader to trace the remarkable ways in which ideas are transmitted beyond borders, dynasties and ages.” Historian and President of the British Academy Professor Sir David Canadine London: today, Tuesday 10 September, the British Academy announces the six books shortlisted for the seventh Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize for Global Cultural Understanding (2019). The international book prize, worth £25,000, rewards and celebrates the best works of non-fiction that have contributed to global cultural understanding and illuminate the interconnections and divisions that shape cultural identity worldwide. The six books on the 2019 shortlist were selected from over 80 submissions.  Alphabetically by author, they are: The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity by Kwame Anthony Appiah (USA) (Profile) How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy by Julian Baggini (UK) (Granta Books) A Fistful of Shells: West Africa from the Rise of the Slave Trade to the Age of Revolution by Toby Green (UK) (Allen Lane) Maoism: A Global History by Julia […]

Tuesday 21 May Simon Savidge to chair panel of judges £10,000 award for literature that ‘best evokes the spirit of the North’ New partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University Prize launches with ‘Rewriting the North’ series of events “I am thrilled and delighted to be chairing The Portico Prize this year, as it returns to the literary calendar, bigger and bolder than ever. Simon Savidge, Chair of judges The Portico Library in Manchester is proud to announce the return of The Portico Prize for Literature, in partnership with the Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University. The biennial prize is the UK’s only award for outstanding literature that best evokes the spirit of the North. Once described as ‘the Booker of the North’, the Prize is open to literature across the formats of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. The Portico Prize was established in 1985 to celebrate the strong regional and literary identity of the North, with the aim of raising awareness of its history and its cultural and literary heritage. The 2019 prize is judged by a panel of leading figures from the worlds of literature, academia and entertainment, each selected for their association with the North of England. It is […]

For Immediate Release To be published simultaneously by Little, Brown in the UK and Henry Holt in the US on 4th June 2019 15th May 2019 – Little, Brown UK and Henry Holt in the US will simultaneously publish Michael Wolff’s new book Siege: Trump Under Fire on 4th June, it was announced today. Wolff is the author of the number-one international bestseller Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, widely considered the first book to reveal the inner workings of the most controversial presidency in American history. Stephen Rubin, Holt’s Chairman, and Tim Whiting, Non-Fiction Publisher at Little, Brown, bought the book from Andrew Wylie of The Wylie Agency. John Sterling, the editor of Fire and Fury, has edited the new book. The book is embargoed until its publication on 4th June. With Fire and Fury, Wolff defined the first phase of the Trump administration; now, in Siege, he has written an equally essential and explosive book about a presidency that is under fire from almost every side. A stunningly fresh narrative that begins just as Trump’s second year as president is getting underway, and ends with the delivery of the Mueller report, Siege reveals an administration that is perpetually beleaguered by […]

PRESS RELEASE For immediate release Wednesday 1 May 2019 “The potential of the London Writers Awards is not only to identify and support under-represented writers through the arduous process to publication, but also to effect positive structural change in the industry itself.” Saeida Rouass, 2019 Judge The London Writers Awards – Spread the Word’s annual development programme for talented London writers – opens for applications today, Wednesday 1 May. Spread the Word invites applications from London-based writers of colour and working class, LGBTQ+ and disabled writers each year. The aim of the Awards, now in their second year, is to support and nurture writers from communities currently under-represented in UK publishing. Ruth Harrison, Director, Spread the Word comments: “Change is starting to happen but if the publishing industry wants to make a sustained change, it has to invest in writers and there is no other programme in the industry that supports under-represented writers on the scale of the London Writers Awards. We are really excited to be taking the scheme in to its second year. We look forward to receiving applications from talented London writers and reading their work.” Writers are selected through a free and open application process. The […]

PRESS RELEASE The Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize for Global Cultural Understanding 2019, the British Academy’s prestigious non-fiction book prize, opens for submissions today, Monday 28 January. The opening of the 2019 prize cycle is marked by a celebratory event at the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival where Kapka Kassabova – winner of the 2018 prize, for Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe – will be in conversation with The Economist’s South Asia Bureau Chief, Max Rodenbeck. The £25,000 Prize is awarded annually for an outstanding contribution to global cultural understanding that illuminates the interconnections and divisions that shape cultural identity worldwide. To be eligible for entry, books must be works of non-fiction published in English between 1 March 2018 and 31 March 2019. The jury will be looking for books that are rigorous and evidence-based, that demonstrate original research and are likely to significantly advance public understanding and debate. Authors may be of any nationality, based anywhere in the world and working in any language provided that the nominated work is available in the English language.   The deadline for submissions is 1 April 2019. The Prize was founded and is generously sponsored by the neuroscientist and International Relations scholar […]

London-based creative practise BUREAU has been appointed by heritage jeans brand Lee Cooper to research the denim market and develop their brand positioning. The agency has been tasked with an initial phase of research, using quantitative insight and dynamic social data, to understand the global jeans wearer of today: not only what they wear but their attitudes, attributes and passions. From this initial analysis, BUREAU will devise a brand strategy to work across all of Lee Cooper’s global markets. BUREAU Creative Director Pete Hellicar and BUREAU Founder and Strategic Director, Jeff Boardman will lead the team. Jeff Boardman said: “Jeans are one of the most ubiquitous items of clothing in the modern world and Lee Cooper’s century-long history places them at the centre of this rich story. We’re really excited to be working with the team at Lee Cooper on a new strategy that will speak to wearers of the original British denim brand all over the world.” Lorna Milliken, Marketing Director at Lee Cooper said: “We believe that BUREAU’s insight, analytical processes and creative capabilities, together with their knowledge of creating connections between brands and culture, make them the ideal agency to work with us as we embark on a […]

#AlRodhanPrize “Extraordinary” book by Bulgarian-born writer chosen to receive international award London: Kapka Kassabova is today, Tuesday 30 October, announced as the winner of the British Academy’s 6th Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize for Global Cultural Understanding 2018, for her book Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe. Published by Granta Books, Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe, is an exploration of the border zone between Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece – a close study of how borders shape people’s lives. Kassabova returns to the land of her childhood, intricately weaving the individual stories of the people she meets there into the wider history of the region. Kassabova, was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1973. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, she emigrated with her family to New Zealand in 1992, where she studied French and Russian Literature at university. In 2005 she moved to Edinburgh and now lives in the Scottish Highlands. She is a writer of poetry, fiction and narrative non-fiction. The £25,000 prize was presented by Chair of the jury and Foreign Secretary of the British Academy, Professor Ash Amin CBE FBA, at a ceremony at the British Academy in central London. Commenting on behalf of […]

‘In these difficult times it is important to be reminded of the ties that bind us, whoever and wherever we are. The books shortlisted for this prize do just that, and magnificently.’ (Professor Ash Amin, Chair of the jury) Tuesday 11 September London: The shortlist for The Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize for Global Cultural Understanding 2018, the British Academy’s prestigious international prize, is announced today, Tuesday 11 September. Worth £25,000, the Prize rewards and celebrates the best works of non-fiction that have contributed to global cultural understanding and illuminate the interconnections and divisions that shape cultural identity worldwide. The six books on the 2018 shortlist, alphabetically by author, are: The Islamic Enlightenment: The Modern Struggle Between Faith and Reason by Christopher de Bellaigue (UK)(The Bodley Head) Al-Britannia: A Journey Through Muslim Britain by James Fergusson (UK) (Bantum Press) Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe by Kapka Kassabova (Bulgaria) (Granta Books) Black Tudors: The Untold Story by Miranda Kaufmann (UK)(One World) I Was Told to Come Alone: My Journey Behind the Lines of Jihad by Souad Mekhennet (Germany) (Virago) Tears of Rangi: Experiments Across Worlds by Dame Anne Salmond (New Zealand)(Auckland University Press) Chaired by Professor Ash Amin CBE FBA, […]