The Unwin Award and Lecture 2025 – key dates
The Unwin Award has announced the key dates for the inaugural year of this new, literary award recognising non-fiction authors in the earlier stages of their careers, whose work is considered to have made a significant contribution to the world.
The shortlist will be revealed on Tuesday 18 February 2025, and the winner announcement will take place on Tuesday 1 April 2025 during a ceremony at The Royal Institution.
The Unwin Award – administered by The Publishers Association – is intended to champion and showcase the value of the UK publishing industry to the world. The Unwin Award has been made possible following a donation from the Unwin Charitable Trust.
Worth £10,000, The Unwin Award will be awarded to an author for their overall body of work (comprising no more than three non-fiction books) and the 2025 Prize is judged by an independent panel of judges chaired by Professor Shahidha Bari – an academic, critic and broadcaster – alongside Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, social entrepreneur, author, podcaster and speaker, alongside John Cotterill, Non-Fiction Buyer at Waterstones.
The Unwin Award Lecture runs in tandem with the literary award, and the 2025 Lecture will be delivered at the winner ceremony, focusing on the value that publishing brings to society. The inaugural Unwin Award Lecture was delivered by esteemed historian and author Peter Frankopan at The Royal Institution in February 2024.