The Women’s Prize for Fiction, awarded since 1996, is the UK’s leading literary prize exclusively for women writers. Since 2024, it has been complemented by the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, which is likewise endowed with £30,000 and honors the best nonfiction book by a woman author. The inaugural prize went to Penguin Random House author Naomi Klein – and Penguin Random House is once again strongly represented this year. Four of the six titles shortlisted for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, announced recently, were published by Penguin Random House UK imprints.
The shortlisted titles are “The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People’s History of Afghanistan” by Lyse Doucet (Hutchinson Heinemann), published in Germany as “Hotel Kabul” by Goldmann; “Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health” by Daisy Fancourt (Cornerstone Press); “Hotel Exile: Paris in the Shadow of War” by Jane Rogoyska (Allen Lane); and “Mother Mary Comes to Me” by Arundhati Roy (Hamish Hamilton). The works of Indian bestselling author Arundhati Roy are also published by Penguin Random House in her home country.
‘Six exceptionally talented writers’
Thangam Debbonaire, CEO of the UK Opera Association and Chair of Judges for this year’s Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, said: “Whittling our remarkable longlist down to just six titles was by no means an easy task, but after careful consideration, we are proud to present a shortlist that celebrates six exceptional books and six hugely talented writers, and offers readers collectively a timely and timeless interrogation of our world today. Our shortlist shows the power and necessity of women’s writing at a time when recent statistics suggest a decline in nonfiction print sales in the UK. These books are an urgent antidote to mis- and disinformation, written with high standards of scholarship. They offer rich and original insights, in what often feels like a fragmented and uncertain world. They are six books of authority, told with humanity.”
The winner of the 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction will be announced alongside the Women’s Prize for Fiction on June 11 at the Women’s Prize Trust’s summer party in London. In addition to the prize money, the winner will receive a limited-edition artwork known as “Charlotte,” created by Ann Christopher.
