Westminster Book Awards Winners Announced at Houses of Parliament
Patriot by Alexei Navalny, Harold Wilson: Twentieth Century Man by Alan Johnson and Let’s Be Honest by Jess Phillips have won the best political books of the year at the Westminster Book Awards tonight, at the Houses of Parliament.
The runners-up in this year’s awards – which are curated by bookshops and voted for by parliamentarians – include politicians, journalists and writers such as: Caroline Lucas, Damian Collins, Baroness Lola Young, Mishal Husain, Sarah Rainsford and Guy Shrubsole.
Labour MP Jess Phillips won the ‘Best Fiction or Non-Fiction book by a Parliamentarian’ category for Let’s Be Honest. The book is a rallying cry to bring truth back to politics.
Harold Wilson: Twentieth Century Man by Former Labour Cabinet minister Alan Johnson won ‘Best Biography by a Parliamentarian’. The book is a study of one of the most successful politicians of the twentieth century.
Patriot by the late Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist, Alexei Navalny, won ‘Best book by a Non-Parliamentarian‘. Patriot is Alexei Navalny’s final letter to the world and a rousing call to continue his work.
The ceremony was hosted by broadcaster and author, Matt Chorley, who won in last year’s Best Political Book by a Non-Parliamentarian category.
Dan Conway, CEO of the Publishers Association, said:
“Congratulations to this year’s hugely deserving winners. These books showcase the breadth, quality, bravery and importance of political writing which is arguably more important than ever to help us understand the world in which we are living. We were delighted to welcome parliamentarians, authors, publishers and booksellers to the Houses of Parliament to celebrate these books and their authors.”
Meryl Halls, Managing Director of the Booksellers Association, said:
“At this inflection point where we are all concerned with how to address polarisation and counterbalance misinformation – the role of brave, nuanced and well researched political writing and the bookshops that play a crucial role in curating and championing them has never been more important. Therefore, we’re proud to have come together united at Westminster tonight to celebrate the winning and shortlisted books and authors that exemplify the power and importance of political writing.”
Now in their ninth year, the Westminster Book Awards (formerly the Parliamentary Book Awards) were established by the Booksellers Association and the Publishers Association to champion the best political writing in the UK and to recognise the important link between the worlds of politics and publishing. The only political book awards curated by bookshops and voted for by parliamentarians, previous winners have included Sebastian Payne, Baroness Floella Benjamin, Michael Ashcroft, Mark Carney, Penny Mordaunt MP, Andrew Mitchell MP, Nick Clegg, Baroness Jowell, Baroness Harman, Iain Dale, James O’Brien and Matt Chorley.
The award ceremony was held at the Houses of Parliament and featured speeches from Booksellers Association Vice President, Debbie James, Publishers Association President, Perminder Mann and Valerie Vaz MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Publishing.