By Andrew Richard Albanese, Editor-in-Chief
The U.K.-based longlist for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction—widely recognized as among the world’s most prestigious international awards for literary nonfiction, announced the longlist for its 2026 prize today. The list of 13 books was selected from more than 350 eligible books published between November 1, 2025, and October 31, 2026.The Baillie Gifford Prize is open to books on any subject and to writers of any nationality, published in any language, anywhere in the world, provided they are published in English in the U.K. during the year of entry. The winning author receives £50,000, with translators sharing the prize in the case of translated works.
This Year’s Longlist:
Nicholas Boggs (American) for Baldwin: A Love Story (Bloomsbury Circus, Bloomsbury Publishing).
Judges’ comment: “An amazing biography about one of the truly most astonishing writers, novelists and storytellers of our time. The subjects he dealt with are relevant today and in many ways this book feels very timely. A fascinating portrait of a truly astonishing human being. I cannot recommend it highly enough.”
Ian Buruma (Dutch) for Stay Alive: Berlin, 1939–1945 (Atlantic Non-Fiction, Atlantic Books).
Judges’ comment: “An extraordinary account of what it was like to live in Berlin at the height of the war. Drawing on accounts, diaries and letters of a whole variety of people, including Jews in hiding, ordinary Germans, cabaret dancers, politicians, people who didn’t agree with the war and people who did. It really brings these accounts alive.”
Edward Chisholm (British) for Murder in Paris ’68: A True Story of Death and Glamour (Monoray, Octopus Publishing Group).
Judges’ comment: “Set around the glamorous and magnetic film star Alain Delon and his wife, there is a Yugoslavian called Stefan Markovich, who is murdered, and Chisholm follows how that happens. This book creates its own world. You are there in Paris. You feel like you see their lives, and you understand the kind of the magnetism of these people and why everybody wants a piece of them.”
Anand Gopal (American) for Days of Love and Rage: A Story of Revolution (Pluto Press).
Judges’ comment: “Gopal researched very heavily these extraordinary stories to bring them to life. It’s a document of one of the most important and significant conflicts that the world has seen in the last 20 years. Understanding how that happened and what happened is key to understanding the world we’re living in today.”
Charlotte Higgins (British) for Ukrainian Lessons: Art in a Time of War (Jonathan Cape, Vintage, Penguin Random House).
Judges’ comment: “Charlotte Higgins has gone to the front line in Ukraine to report on Ukrainian culture, which is at the heart of this conflict, because Putin has said from the start that Ukraine is not a separate country, it’s part of Russia. The artists in this book, who Higgins has spoken to, explained that no, we have a very separate culture. There’s lots of poetry, underground theatre, ballets happening in cellars. It’s a very brave piece of reporting, and it’s a very moving book.”
Patrick Radden Keefe (American) for London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth (Picador, Pan Macmillan).
Judges’ comment: “An extraordinary and sad account of the death of a boy in London who had taken on a personality that wasn’t his own. An extraordinarily well written, deeply reported story from a writer who knows how to tell a story, not just about a particular object, example or person, but related to a much bigger contextual story about what’s going on in a city.”
Ben Macintyre (British) for Redwood: The Untold Story of the Cold War’s Most Extraordinary Spy (Viking, Penguin General).
Judges’ comment: “The most incredible true story of Cold War espionage and the two men at its centre who changed the course of world history. An amazing feat of storytelling by an absolute master of his craft.”
Bojan Pancevski (Macedonian) for The Nord Stream Conspiracy: The Inside Story of the Explosions That Shook the World (Hutchinson Heinemann, Cornerstone).
Judges’ comment: “This is a proper spy story. You’re going to be turning the pages to find out what happens next. This is about the blowing up of an oil pipeline in the North Sea, and how this group of mavericks managed to do it. An absolutely gripping story that gives you a real insight into what is happening behind the scenes.”
Edmund Richardson (British) for Alexander: God, King, Man (Bloomsbury Publishing).
Judges’ comment: “It’s Alexander the Great as you’ve never seen him before. It’s epic and sweeping, but also the most incredibly intimate portrait of the man himself. An absolutely astonishing book which deserves to be read incredibly widely.”
Jane Rogoyska (British) for Hotel Exile: Paris in the Shadow of War (Allen Lane, Penguin Press).
Judges’ comment: “A remarkable read that focuses on the story and history of a hotel and a city, but also what it feels like to be alive at a time when the world is changing. The human stories in this book are fascinating, a truly extraordinary read.”
Åsne Seierstad (Norwegian), translated by Siân Mackie for Never Say War: Life Inside Russia (Virago, Little, Brown Book Group).
Judges’ comment: “An absolutely stupendous piece of reporting. Seierstad gets right inside Russia and talks to people about the war, about their lives, and gives a hair-raising account of life inside Russia. A vital piece of work, as well as being beautifully told.”
Matthew Sweet (British) for The Great Dictator: A Life of Barbara Cartland (Hodder & Stoughton).
Judges’ comment: “Barbara Cartland is one of the biggest selling novelists of the 20th century, and yet literary critics have tended to kind of write her entirely out of history. Sweet writes her back into history and shows us the extraordinary, bizarre life she led.”
Andrea Wulf (German) for The Traveller: The Revolutionary Life of George Forster and his Search for Humanity (Allen Lane, Penguin Press).
Judges’ comment: “A fabulous book which follows George Forster, who is only a teenager when he goes on the second voyage of Captain Cook all around the world. We see it through his eyes, his drawings and his diaries. We see not only what he sees, but also his interpretation of different cultures. Wulf really opens your eyes to him and is very passionate about him, I think after people read it, they will be to.”
An ‘Opinionated Book Group’
Kirsty Lang
“Chairing this prize is like being part of a very well-informed and opinionated book group. Whittling our choices down to 13 books led to some forthright discussion, but we got there in the end and are very proud of our longlist,” said broadcaster and arts journalist Kirsty Lang, chair of judges, in a statement. “All 13 books have compelling narratives that entertain as well as inform, and the longlist covers a huge variety of subjects, from literary biography to ancient and modern history, true crime, and outstanding reportage from across the globe.
In addition to Lang, this year’s judging panel also includes: Bea Carvalho, head of books at Waterstones; Tiffany Jenkins, writer and cultural historian; Sam Leith, literary editor of The Spectator; Ravi Mattu, editor and reporter; and award-winning novelist and storyteller, Elif Shafak.
A six-book shortlist will be announced October 1, and the winner will be announced on November 4 at an award ceremony at BMA House, generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. The announcement will also be livestreamed across the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction social channels.
Last year’s winner was Helen Garner for How to End a Story: Collected Diaries.