Blakemore wins 2018 Royal Society Science Book Prize

3 October 2018 Books+Publishing

In the UK, Sarah-Jayne Blakemore has won the £25,000 (A$44,140) Royal Society Science Book Prize for her book Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain (Doubleday), reports the Guardian.

Chosen from a shortlist of six, Inventing Ourselves is informed by Blakemore’s own laboratory research about how the brain develops during adolescence to shape the adults we become. Blakemore is a professor in cognitive neuroscience at University College London and has won major awards for her work including the British Psychological Society Spearman Medal and the Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award. Inventing Ourselves is her first solo book.

Chair of judges Dame Frances Ashcroft said the book stood out ‘because it addresses an important but somewhat neglected area that affects every one of us’.

‘She’s given us a different view of the teenager and corrected all the myths that people have started out with. It is a very important book because she’s teaching us to look at teenagers in a completely different way. These are people in a period of great creativity, not just moody individuals,’ said Ashcroft.

Each year a panel of judges awards the prize to a book that they believe makes popular science writing compelling and accessible to the public. This year’s prize was announced at an event hosted by scientist and writer Brian Cox.

Blakemore is the fourth woman to win the prize in its 30-year history, following University of Melbourne academic Cordelia Fine who won in 2017 for her book Testosterone Rex (Icon).

For more information about the award, see the website.

Category: International news