Flanagan shortlisted for 2024 Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction

In the UK, Question 7 by Australian author Richard Flanagan (Knopf) has been shortlisted for the 2024 Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction, worth £50,000 (A$96,907).

The six titles shortlisted for the award are:

• The Story of a Heart (Rachel Clarke, Abacus)
• Question 7 (Richard Flanagan, Knopf)
• Nuclear War: A Scenario (Annie Jacobsen, Torva)
• A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial (Viet Thanh Nguyen, Corsair)
• Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin (Sue Prideaux, Faber)
• Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World (David Van Reybrouck, trans by David Colmer & David McKay, Bodley Head).

The prize organisation said of Question 7: ‘With his shortlisting, author Richard Flanagan is still in the running to become the first author to “win the double” of both the Baillie Gifford and Booker prizes. Beginning at a love hotel by Japan’s Inland Sea and ending by a river in Tasmania, Question 7 is about the choices we make about love and the chain reaction that follows. Exploring the value of life, Flanagan tackles far-ranging personal and historical topics, from the atomic bomb to his own near-death experience.’

Chair of judges Isabel Hilton said of the shortlist: ‘The six shortlisted books showcase a breathtaking range of subjects and styles, expand our understanding and challenge our perspectives. Each one demonstrates exceptional scholarship and compelling narrative and offers profound insight into some of the most pressing issues of our time. It is a shortlist that we celebrate as a testament to the power of nonfiction to enlighten, engage and inspire us. Choosing a winner will be a daunting task but one that we embrace with enthusiasm.’

Judges selected the shortlist from a longlist announced in September. All works of nonfiction by authors of any nationality are eligible for the award, which is the richest prize for nonfiction in the UK. The winner will be announced on 19 November.

The winner of last year’s prize was John Vaillant for Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World (Sceptre).

More information about the shortlist is available from the prize website.

Category: Awards Local news