The Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction has revealed its 2025 shortlist, with six authors in contention for the annual U.K. award that “celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility” in nonfiction written by women.
Neneh Cherry, the Swedish singer known for her hit 1988 single “Buffalo Stance,” made the shortlist for her memoir, A Thousand Threads. Rachel Clarke was named a finalist for The Story of a Heart: Two Families, One Hart, and a Medical Miracle.
Chloe Dalton was shortlisted for her memoir, Raising Hare, alongside Clare Mulley for Agent Zo: The Untold Story of a Fearless World War II Resistance Fighter, Helen Scales for What the Wild Sea Can Be: The Future of the World’s Ocean, and Yuan Yang for Private Revolutions: Four Women Face China’s New Social Order.
Kavita Puri, the chair of judges for the award, said in a statement, “These books will stay with you long after they have been read, for their outstanding prose, craftsmanship, and what they reveal about the human condition and our world. It was such a joy to embrace such an eclectic mix of narratives by such insightful women writers—we are thrilled and immensely proud of our final shortlist.”
The Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, sister to the Women’s Prize for Fiction, was first awarded last year to Naomi Klein’s Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World. The winner of this year’s prize will be announced at a ceremony in London on June 12.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
