Unwin Award reveals judging panel for inaugural prize
The Unwin Award has today announced the judging panel 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.
Professor Shahidha Bari – an academic, critic and broadcaster – will Chair the 2025 Judging Panel, and is joined by Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, social entrepreneur, author, podcaster and speaker, alongside John Cotterill, who is Non-Fiction Buyer at Waterstones.
The closing date for submissions has been extended to Monday 21 October 2024. Full guidelines can be found here and the submission form can be found here.
Dan Conway, CEO of the Publishers Association, said:
“I am delighted to welcome such an esteemed and experienced panel to judge next year’s inaugural Unwin Award. With submissions shortly coming to a close on Friday (18 October), we are looking forward to Shahidha, Anne-Marie and John considering the raft of brilliant non-fiction authors whose early careers are already making an impact on the world, and to sharing their first shortlist in Spring.”
About the judges
Professor Shahidha Bari
Shahidha Bari is an academic, critic and broadcaster. She studied English at Cambridge and Cornell and is a Professor at the University of the Arts London. She’s the presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Free Thinking programme, also known as the Arts and Ideas podcast, and the occasional host of Front Row, Open Book and Outlook among others. She’s the author of Dressed: The Philosophy of Clothes (2019) and Look Again: Fashion. She was the winner of The Observer Anthony Burgess Arts Journalism Prize in 2016 and has been a judge for the Forward Poetry Prizes, the Baillie Gifford Non-Fiction Prize and The Booker Prize. She writes for The Financial Times, The Guardian, Times Literary Supplement and Frieze magazine among others.
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE is a prodigy in every sense of the word. Aged 11, she was the youngest girl ever to pass A-level Computing, and was just 20 years old when she received her Master’s Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Oxford.
In 2013, Anne-Marie co-founded Stemettes, an award-winning social initiative dedicated to inspiring and promoting the next generation of young women in the STEM & STEAM sectors. Since its inception 11 years ago, it has exposed more than 65,000 girls across Europe to her vision for a more diverse and balanced science and tech community.
A recognised and respected thought-leader, Anne-Marie was the temporary Arithmetician for 60 episodes on Channel 4’s Countdown, the world’s longest-running game show. She serves as the Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University, Co-Chair of the Institute for the Future of Work and Chair of UD Music Foundation. Her book She’s In CTRL was published in September 2022.
From 2022 to 2023, Anne-Marie served as President of the British Science Association. She has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from the Open University, Glasgow Caledonian University, Kent University, Bristol University, Coventry University, Royal Holloway, University of London & Bath University as well as an Honorary Fellowship at Keble College, Oxford. In 2017, she was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours for services to young women and STEM sectors.
John Cotterill
John Cotterill is a Non-Fiction Buyer at Waterstones and is responsible for co-leading key non-fiction campaigns, including Waterstones Book of the Month and Waterstones Book of the Year. John was born in South Shields, studied English Literature at Aberystwyth and gained a master’s degree from the Open University. He has worked in bookselling for over sixteen years and is a passionate bibliophile, dedicated to connecting people with books. He lives in Bristol.