Lyse Doucet, Lady Hale & 14 More Writers Named On The ‘Hopeful’ 2026 Women’s Prize For Non-Fiction Longlist
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The list highlights seven debut writers, with stories delving into issues across the globe
Now in its third year, the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction is back for 2026, presenting a 16-strong longlist the chair of judges describes as ‘compelling’ and ‘hopeful’. Here’s everything you need to know.
Women’s Prize For Non-Fiction 2026: Longlist, Judges, Dates & More
The Longlist
Without further ado, the 16 narrative non-fiction works up for the third annual Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction are:
- Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: China’s Stolen Children and a Story of Separated Twins by Barbara Demick
- The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People’s History of Afghanistan by Lyse Doucet
- Don’t Let It Break You, Honey: A Memoir About Saving Yourself by Jenny Evans
- Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health by Daisy Fancourt
- With the Law on Our Side: How the Law Works for Everyone and How We Can Make It Work Better by Lady Hale
- To Be Young, Gifted and Black: Creativity and Race in the 21st Century by Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason
- Artists, Siblings, Visionaries: The lives and loves of Gwen and Augustus John by Judith Mackrell
- Ask Me How It Works: Love in an Open Marriage by Deepa Paul
- Death of an Ordinary Man by Sarah Perry
- The Genius of Trees: How Trees Mastered the Elements and Shaped the World by Harriet Rix
- Hotel Exile: Paris in the Shadow of War by Jane Rogoyska
- Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy
- Finding Albion: Myth, Folklore and the Quest for a Hidden Britain by Zakia Sewell
- To Exist As I Am: A Doctor’s Notes on Recovery and Radical Acceptance by Grace Spence Green
- Nation of Strangers: Rebuilding Home in the 21st Century by Ece Temelkuran
- Indignity: A Life Reimagined by Lea Ypi
Seven of these 16 titles are debut works, with the longlist as a whole spanning politics and history, memoir and biography, art and science. But there are other names you’ll recognise: Indian writer and political activist Arundhati Roy is best known for her 1997, Booker Prize-winning novel The God of Small Things, but in Mother Mary Comes to Me writes her career-first memoir exploring identity and mother-daughter relationships. Meanwhile, fellow acclaimed novelist, 2017 Women’s Prize for Fiction longlistee and 2024 Booker Prize longlistee Sarah Perry also finds herself on the longlist with her first non-fiction foray, Death of an Ordinary Man, which details the final days of her father-in-law, David.
Elsewhere, former President of the Supreme Court Lady Hale who gives readers an expert tour of the law in our land, how it works and why we should all care in With the Law on Our Side. You may also recognise Canadian journalist Lyse Doucet, who has worked as a BBC correspondent for almost three decades; The Finest Hotel in Kabul, her debut work, is a richly crafted history of modern Afghanistan, centred on the InterContinental hotel in Kabul.
These women spin tales of survival and hope, fame and justice, advocacy and change, from emerging writer and junior doctor Grace Spence Green to acclaimed Albanian academic Lea Ypi. They hop from Paris’ Hotel Lutetia in WWII Paris to China’s underground economy in the wake of its one-child policy, questioning everything from open marriages to exile and migration, to the alternative spirit rumbling under Britain’s surface.
This year’s Chair of Judges Baroness Thangam Debbonaire describes the longlist as ‘hopeful’, and the books as ‘rigorous and researched, lyrical and flowing’.
The 16 selected titles ‘are drawn together by the originality and skill with which they have been written,’ Baroness Debbonaire adds. ‘This reading list carries relevance and truth for the future as well as holding significant value for the present day – the books spark curiosity and demand attention; they are for everyone navigating the complicated and unpredictable world we are living in. The voices of these 16 remarkable women need to be heard – loud and clear.’
The Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, now in its third edition, was first announced in 2023 and awarded in 2024, and is a sister prize to the Women’s Prize for Fiction. The previous winners are Canadian author Naomi Klein with Doppelganger (2024) and British physician Rachel Clark with The Story of a Heart: Two Families, One Heart, and a Medical Miracle (2025).
Both prizes are organised by the Women’s Prize Trust, a charity working to promote literature of merit penned by women in all of its forms while also encouraging greater diversity and gender equality in the literary world, underpinned by the belief ‘that every woman’s voice has the power to inspire change’, says executive director Claire Shanahan. ‘Reading and hearing a multiplicity of perspectives, experiences and ideas through non-fiction writing is more vital than ever – it is how we make sense of the world; it’s how we learn from the past, challenge injustice, and imagine new futures.
‘We are grateful to our brilliant judging panel for the care and consideration in their reading and discussions, and we are immensely proud of this year’s longlist,’ Shanahan adds. ‘I offer our congratulations to these sixteen exceptional writers whose voices shed light on what it means to be human amidst the wider issues shaping society today.’
Meet The Judges
Every year a new panel of five judges is appointed to adjudicate the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction. This year, British politician, cultural strategist, CEO of the UK Opera Association and former MP Thangam Debbonaire is the chair, having ‘said “yes” without hesitation, because this Prize is a powerful, trusted and necessary platform for women’s voices and experience,’ she says. Debbonaire describes the Longlist as showing ‘remarkable breadth and depth – women writing excellently on a wide range of subjects, each uncovering something new about our world’.
She is joined by engineer, author and broadcaster Roma Agrawal, NEOM Wellbeing founder Nicola Elliott, novelist and memoirist Nina Stibbe, and Crown Court judge and thriller author Nicola Williams.
The Books
Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: China’s Stolen Children and a Story of Separated Twins by Barbara Demick
‘I absolutely loved Daughters of the Bamboo Grove,’ says judge Nicola Elliott. ‘It tells the extraordinary story of Americans adopting children through China at the time of China’s brutal one-child policy, told through the eyes of twins. It left a deep impression on me.’
Hardback, £20
The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People’s History of Afghanistan by Lyse Doucet
Judge Roma Agrawal says: ‘With great accuracy and care, Doucet has taken an extremely complex geo-political situation and brought it to the real-life experience of very relatable people. The Finest Hotel in Kabul is a nuanced look at the history and politics of Afghanistan, told through the lens of the hotel and the people that occupy it.’
Hardback, £25
Don’t Let It Break You, Honey: A Memoir About Saving Yourself by Jenny Evans
‘Don’t Let It Break You, Honey is not just a memoir – it’s an indictment of failure at the highest level of policing,’ says Elliott. ‘It’s deeply personal, compelling and raw. A real page-turner.’
Hardback, £22
Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health by Daisy Fancourt
‘Art Cure puts forward an amazing case for why the arts can be truly life changing – making us happier and helping us live longer,’ Elliot says. ‘Drawing on groundbreaking research, it is an accessible, inspiring and upbeat read.’
Hardback, £22
With the Law on Our Side: How the Law Works for Everyone and How We Can Make It Work Better by Lady Hale
‘With the Law on Our Side is beautifully and clearly written – told only as Lady Hale can tell it – extremely accessible, and easy to read,’ says judge Nicola Williams.
Hardback, £25
To Be Young, Gifted and Black: Creativity and Race in the 21st Century by Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason
Williams says: ‘To Be Young, Gifted and Black is an original book about creativity and race in the 21st Century. Beautifully told by the author – the mother of seven exceptional classical musicians, who have already at a young age made their mark – it is an important and relevant read.’
Hardback, £16.99
Artists, Siblings, Visionaries: The lives and loves of Gwen and Augustus John by Judith Mackrell
Chair of judges Baroness Debbonaire says: ‘Artists, Siblings, Visionaries is about the sibling relationship and artistic development of Gwen and Augustus John. It has so much to follow, rich with the history of these 20th century artists and their lives.’
Hardback, £30
Ask Me How It Works: Love in an Open Marriage by Deepa Paul
‘In Ask Me How It Works, Paul writes with real joy and reflection about her exploration as a married mother of her body and sexuality, and how she found a way to live that feels authentic,’ Agrawal reflects. ‘It’s really rare to see this type of story, especially from the perspective of a South-Asian woman.’
Hardback, £18.99
Death of an Ordinary Man by Sarah Perry
‘Death of an Ordinary Man is a profound and lyrical meditation on the process of dying,’ says judge Nina Stibbe. ‘Perry’s compelling account of one unexceptional man shows us in beautiful detail that no life is ordinary.’
Hardback, £18.99
The Genius of Trees: How Trees Mastered the Elements and Shaped the World by Harriet Rix
‘This is a great example of a science book that anyone can pick up and enjoy,’ Agrawal says. ‘The Genius of Trees made me realise on many different levels how trees interact with parts of our environment and lives which completely surprised me. You can feel Rix’s real passion for trees, and you’ll suddenly never look at them in the same way again.’
Hardback, £25
Hotel Exile: Paris in the Shadow of War by Jane Rogoyska
‘Poignant and painful, Hotel Exile takes the vehicle of a hotel as a means of telling the story of exile,’ Baroness Debbonaire says. ‘Set in the middle of Paris, before, during and after the Second World War, it reveals a part of this period of history that is often left unexplored.’
Published 26 February 2026.
Hardback, £25
Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy
‘If you’ve read The God of Small Things, you may already want to read Mother Mary Comes to Me,’ says Baroness Debbonaire. ‘If you didn’t, you should still read this book. It’s an incredible story, dealing with how a woman becomes an artist, becomes a writer, but also about Roy’s campaigning life.’
Hardback, £20
Finding Albion: Myth, Folklore and the Quest for a Hidden Britain by Zakia Sewell
‘Finding Albion is an intriguing exploration of British folklore and mythology,’ says Stibbe. ‘Journeying the length and the breadth of the country, Zakia Sewell seeks to find an alternative Britain that is vividly alive today; a hopeful future that lies beyond divisive national myths.’
Published 19 March 2026.
Hardback, £25
To Exist As I Am: A Doctor’s Notes on Recovery and Radical Acceptance by Grace Spence Green
‘To Exist As I Am demonstrates how it is possible to turn the most horrific misfortune into a force for advocacy and change,’ says Williams. ‘It is a poignant account of resilience, and an accessible and powerful memoir. I absolutely loved it.’
Hardback, £16.99
Nation of Strangers: Rebuilding Home in the 21st Century by Ece Temelkuran
Baroness Debbonaire says: ‘Nation of Strangers is a story for our times about migration, about dislocation, and about how that makes people feel – but also how it changes how people relate to one another.’
Published 12 February 2026.
Hardback, £18.99
Indignity: A Life Reimagined by Lea Ypi
‘Indignity is a genre-defying examination of family history and political inquiry,’ Stibbe says. ‘Brought to life by Ypi’s immersive style, it raises questions about the fragility of truth, and reflects on personal identity and collective memory.’
Hardback, £22
Next Steps
Now the longlist is locked in, the judges will whittle down their selections from 16 to just a six-strong shortlist, which will be revealed on 25 March. The winner will then be announced at a ceremony shared with the Women’s Prize for Fiction at London’s Bedford Square Gardens on 11 June.
The winner of the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction receives a £30,000 prize plus the Charlotte sculpture supported by the Charlotte Aitken Trust and Findmypast.
The 31st Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist will be revealed on 4 March, followed by the shortlist on 22 April.
