Former Baillie Gifford winner Patrick Radden Keefe is among the authors shortlisted for the 2026 prize, this time with his book on London\u2019s criminal underbelly.<\/p>\n
The six-strong shortlist spans literary biography, ancient history, true crime and international reportage, with James Baldwin<\/a>, Barbara Cartland and Alexander the Great among its subjects.<\/p>\n Keefe, who won the prize in 2021<\/a> for his book Empire of Pain, is this time selected for London Falling. This book tells the story of the death of Zac Brettler, a British teenager who fell from a luxury London apartment after pretending to be the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, described as \u201ca scrupulously researched work of narrative nonfiction\u201d and \u201cgrimly absorbing from start to finish\u201d in Ian Thomson\u2019s Guardian review.<\/a><\/p>\n Keefe is joined by Andrea Wulf \u2013 who was previously longlisted in 2008 \u2013 along with Nicholas Boggs, Matthew Sweet, Edmund Richardson and Anand Gopal. The winner, announced on 4 November, will receive \u00a350,000.<\/p>\n Wulf has been recognised for a second time with The Traveller, which traces the life of George Forster, an 18th-century naturalist and explorer who joined Captain Cook\u2019s second voyage around the world as a teenager.<\/p>\n Matthew Sweet\u2019s The Great Dictator explores the life of the prolific romance novelist Barbara Cartland, who famously dictated the 723 novels she authored, against the backdrop of the changing sexual and social politics of her era. In a Guardian review<\/a>, Kathryn Hughes wrote: \u201cSweet pays his subject the compliment of absolute seriousness, regarding her as a cultural phenomenon whose extraordinary life, stretching the entire 20th century, deserves deep study.\u201d<\/p>\n Edmund Richardson made the shortlist for his book Alexander, which charts the life of Alexander the Great. Meanwhile, Nicholas Boggs\u2019 biography, Baldwin, reflects on the friendships, romances and creative relationships that influenced the writer\u2019s work. Ralf Webb praised Boggs\u2019s \u201cexhaustive\u201d research in his Guardian review<\/a>, enabling the author to \u201cmeticulously re-stage Baldwin\u2019s life in something like biographic ultra-high-definition\u201d.<\/p>\n The final book on the shortlist, Anand Gopal\u2019s Days of Love and Rage, examines the Syrian civil war through the experiences of residents of Manbij, a city in the country\u2019s north.<\/p>\n Chair of judges Kirsty Lang said the books offer \u201csomething for everyone\u201d. \u201cIt is an eclectic list united by stories of people navigating a world full of conflict as well as hope,\u201d she said. \u201cAt a time when many of us are trying to make sense of a complex and frightening world, nonfiction can help us find our way through.\u201d<\/p>\n The shortlist was drawn from a longlist of 13 books<\/a>, including Murder in Paris \u201968 by Edward Chisholm, The Nord Stream Conspiracy by Bojan Pancevski, Ukrainian Lessons by Charlotte Higgins, Redwood by Ben Macintyre, Hotel Exile by Jane Rogoyska, Never Say War by \u00c5sne Seierstad and Stay Alive by Ian Buruma. The books were selected from more than 350 eligible titles published between 1 November 2025 and 31 October 2026.<\/p>\n Alongside Lang, the judges include novelist Elif Shafak, Waterstones head of books Bea Carvalho, writer and cultural historian Tiffany Jenkins, Spectator literary editor Sam Leith, and editor and reporter Ravi Mattu.<\/p>\n The prize was founded in 1999 as the Samuel Johnson prize, and has been sponsored by investment management firm Baillie Gifford since 2016. The firm has faced criticism over its investments in fossil fuels and companies with links to Israel. In 2024, campaign group Fossil Free Books organised boycotts<\/a> of literary festivals sponsored by Baillie Gifford.<\/p>\n