Women’s Prize For Non-Fiction: The 2025 Shortlist Is In
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3 weeks ago
Here are the six books you need to know
Last year, the Women’s Prize presented its very first Non-Fiction award, dubbing Doppelganger by Naomi Klein the best title of the year. Tracing Klein’s experiences of getting chronically mistaken for a woman who shares her name but dispenses radically different views to her online, Doppelganger delves into the underbelly of the internet, exploring identity, conspiracy theories, wellness influences and the outward-facing branding we all polish for our digital identities.
So who’s on the shortlist for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction this year? Here are the titles to delve into next.
Women’s Prize For Non-Fiction 2025: The Shortlist
- A Thousand Threads by Neneh Cherry
- The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke
- Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
- Agent Zo by Clare Mulley
- What the Wild Sea Can Be by Helen Scales
- Private Revolutions by Yuan Yang
‘It’s an absolute pleasure to announce six books on our 2025 shortlist from across genres, that are united by an unforgettable voice, rigour, and unique insight,’ says the prize’s 2025 chair of judges, Kavita Puri. ‘Included in our list are narratives that honour the natural world and its bond with humanity, meticulously researched stories of women challenging power, and books that illuminate complex subjects with authority, nuance and originality. These books will stay with you long after they have been read, for their outstanding prose, craftsmanship, and what they reveal about the human condition and our world. It was such a joy to embrace such an eclectic mix of narratives by such insightful women writers – we are thrilled and immensely proud of our final shortlist.’
A Thousand Threads by Neneh Cherry
A deeply personal and powerful memoir from beloved music icon Neneh Cherry, A Thousand Threads is ‘a story of a remarkable life and the many threads that made it,’ says chair of judges Kavita. ‘This is a book about belonging, family, how we find our place in society and, of course, music. The writing is exceptional, and effortless. It’s a complex portrayal full of warmth, honesty and integrity, and how Neneh came to be who she is today.’
The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke
Penned by palliative care doctor Rachel Clarke, The Story of a Heart ‘combines the author’s expertise with the emotional resonance of the subject to bring together an extraordinary story,’ says judge Dr Elizabeth-Jane Burnett. ‘It shows how advances in medical science and nursing care made it possible for one family to donate to another a gift that can never be repaid – the gift of life. It moves effortlessly between disciplines and is meticulously researched and superbly written.’
Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
Tracing how one woman’s unexpected bond with a newborn hare charnged her life, judge Elizabeth Buchan describes Raising Hare as ‘a beautiful meditation on the interactions between the human and the natural world that takes you under its spell.’
‘I really like how the book opens up questions of wildness,’ Elizabeth adds. ‘How do we let the wild into our lives, and what can we do in our own spaces to cultivate a relationship between us and the natural habitat?’
Agent Zo by Clare Mulley
Telling the story of Elżbieta Zawacka, a WWII Resistance Fighter and the only woman to reach London from Warsaw as an emissary of the Polish Home Army Command, Agent Zo ‘is a masterfully written biography that brings Elżbieta’s extraordinary story to life in exceptional detail,’ says judge Dr Leah Broad. ‘Phenomenally well researched, it’s a window into World War Two stories that aren’t often told, seen through the life of an inspiring and powerful protagonist. The book follows Elżbieta right into the 21st century, showing the complexity of post-war politics – this is history that still resonates today.’
What the Wild Sea Can Be by Helen Scales
Penned by a marine biologist, What the Wild Sea Can Be is ‘a heartfelt exploration of the deep sea, from coral to whales, to emperor penguins to kelp,’ shares judge Emma Gannon. ‘The writing is urgent, spellbinding and gripping, showing the ways humans have accelerated climate change and how we can fight for a better future. This book is a delight and will make you appreciate how magical and fragile life is – and how we need to appreciate the life-giving nature of the Earth’s oceans.’
Private Revolutions by Yuan Yang
Delving into the lives of ordinary women in modern China, each striving for a better future in an unequal society, Private Revolutions ‘traces a moment of transition in China through the lives of four women who were growing up in the years after Tiananmen Square,’ says chair of judges Kavita. ‘These coming-of-age stories are ones you rarely hear of: individuals who want different lives from their parents and who are battling the system in the hope of a better life. It’s eye-opening, beautifully written and carefully researched.’
Meet The Longlistees
British writers dominated the 2025 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction longlist, with 11 of the 16 authors up for the prize hailing from the UK. Within the ‘non-fiction’ umbrella, genres range from reportage on contemporary issues to revisionist history, insightful memoirs to myth-busting biographies, forgotten criminal cases to intimate narratives shining a light on ordinary people. As for the writers themselves, everyone from a music icon to a newly elected MP to an NHS palliative care doctor are represented. Of the 16 longlistees, six are commended for their debut work, sitting on the list alongside celebrated established writers including a Pulitzer Prize winner.
‘Judging the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction has been a huge privilege, and reading the books submitted has been both enlightening and enriching,’ says the 2025 chair of judges, Kavita Puri. ‘My fellow judges and I are thrilled with the selection of 16 books on this year’s longlist. What unites these diverse titles, that boast so many different disciplines and genres, is the accomplishment of the writing, the originality of the storytelling and the incisiveness of the research. Here are books that provoke debate and discussion, that offer insight into new experiences and perspectives, and that bring overlooked stories back to life and recognition. Amongst this stellar list, there are also reads that expertly steer us through the most pressing issues of our time, show the resilience of the human spirit, alongside others that elucidate the dangers of unchecked power, the consequence of oppression and the need for action and defiance.’
Sixteen non-fiction books written in English and published between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 made it onto the second annual Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction longlist. They were:
- Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World by Anna Applebaum
- Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age by Eleanor Barrclough
- The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV by Helen Castor
- A Thousand Threads by Neneh Chery
- The Story of A Heart by Rachel Clarke
- Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
- Ootlin by Jenni Fagan
- Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller
- Agent Zo: The Untold Stories of Fearless WW2 Resistance Fighter Elżbieta Zawacka by Clare Mulley
- By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land by Rebecca Nagle
- Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin by Sue Prideaux
- What the Wild Sea Can Be: The Future of the World’s Ocean by Helen Scales
- The Peepshow: The Murders at 10 Rillington Place by Kate Summerscale
- Sister in Law: Fighting for Justice in a System Designed by Men by Harriet Wistrich
- Tracker by Alexis Wright
- Private Revolutions: Coming of Age in a New China by Yuan Yang
What Next?
The winner of the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction 2025 will be revealed at a ceremony on Thursday 12 June 2025, along with the winner of the sister Fiction prize. The winner will receive £30,000 and an artwork known as the ‘Charlotte’, both gifted by the Charlotte Aitken Trust.
DISCOVER
Stay up to date at womensprize.com
Shop the 2025 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction longlist at bookshop.org
