Women's Prize for Non-Fiction
The 2024 Judges
‘I am unspeakably glad that the prize has come into existence – and am very grateful to the sponsors, Findmypast. For me, it’s an enormous privilege and a joy to chair the judges: together we have a chance to elevate the best of women’s non-fiction writing this year.’ – Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb
A panel of five women – all passionate readers and at the top of their respective professions – choose the winner of the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction.
The 2024 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction is chaired by award-winning historian, author and broadcaster Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. Joining Suzannah is fair fashion campaigner, content creator and broadcaster Venetia La Manna; academic, consultant and author Professor Nicola Rollock; prize-winning author Kamila Shamsie; and biographer, lecturer and journalist Anne Sebba.
A fair fashion campaigner, content creator and broadcaster, Venetia La Manna challenges fashion brands and retailers on their unethical practices. She uses her social media platform to educate, entertain and raise awareness around fashion and sustainability, while, offline, she is focused on community building and organising against Big Fashion. Venetia co-founded Remember Who Made Them, which amplifies the voices of garment workers. On her popular podcast, All The Small Things, Venetia interviews authors about issues related to social and climate justice.
Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is a distinguished historian, author and broadcaster. She is Professor Emerita at the University of Roehampton, Senior Member at St Cross College, Oxford, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Society of Antiquaries. Suzannah has written and edited seven books, presented history series on BBC, ITV, More4 and Channel 5, and she hosts the popular Not Just the Tudors podcast from History Hit. In 2020, Suzannah chaired the judging of the Costa Book Awards.
A prominent academic, author and consultant, Professor Nicola Rollock specialises in racial justice in education and the workplace. Author of The Racial Code: Tales of Resistance and Survival, Nicola is interested in how we think about and understand racism as a basis for fostering meaningful change. She is widely known for her unprecedented research into the career experiences of UK Black female professors, and the exhibition this later inspired, Phenomenal Women, which was displayed at London’s Southbank Centre.
Anne Sebba is one of Britain’s most distinguished biographers and the author of 11 books, including the bestselling biography That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research and a Trustee of the National Archives Trust. Anne is currently working on a book about the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz, to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camps.
No stranger to the Women’s Prize, Kamila Shamsie’s powerful novel Home Fire won our Fiction Prize in 2018, and she has been shortlisted on two other occasions. Kamila is the author of eight novels and her work has been translated into over 30 languages. She is a Fellow and Vice President of the Royal Society of Literature and was named a Granta Best of Young British Novelist. Kamila is currently professor of creative writing at the University of Manchester.
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