{"title":"The 2026 Women's Prize for Non-Fiction Shortlist","description":"\u003cp\u003e“Whittling our remarkable longlist down to just six titles was by no means an easy task, but after careful consideration, we are proud to present a shortlist that celebrates six exceptional books and six hugely talented writers, and offers readers collectively a timely and timeless interrogation of our world today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur shortlist shows the power and necessity of women’s writing at a time when recent statistics suggest a decline in non-fiction print sales in the UK. These books are an urgent antidote to mis- and dis-information, written with high standards of scholarship. They offer rich and original insights, in what often feels like a fragmented and uncertain world. They are six books of authority, told with humanity.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThangam Debbonaire, Chair of Judges\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"9780241761717","title":"Mother Mary Comes To Me","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Roy, Arundhati \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eMemoirs\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 4 September 2025 by Penguin Books Ltd (Hamish Hamilton Ltd) in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHardback | 384 pages\u003cbr\u003e146 x 223 x 36 | 484g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERFOYLES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025AUDIBLE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025BLACKWELL'S NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025WINNER OF THE GOOGLE PLAY BEST OF 2025 AWARDSHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025The incredible first memoir from the Booker-winning radical icon Arundhati Roy, author of The God of Small ThingsArundhati Roy’s first work of memoir, this is a soaring account, both intimate and inspiring, of how the author became the person and the writer she is, shaped by circumstance, but above all by her relationship to her extraordinary, singular mother Mary, who she describes as ‘my shelter and my storm’.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDistraught and even a “little ashamed” at the intensity of her response to the death of the mother she ran from at age eighteen, Arundhati began to write Mother Mary Comes to Me. The result is this astonishing, disconcerting, surprisingly funny chronicle—unique and simultaneously universal, of the author’s life, from childhood to the present, from Kerala to Delhi.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith the scale, sweep, and depth of her novels and the passion, political clarity, and warmth of her essays, Mother Mary Comes to Me is an ode to freedom, a tribute to thorny love and savage grace—a memoir like no other.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bookshop Mold","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55270125994360,"sku":"9780241761717","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0277\/7802\/3522\/files\/9780241761717_0f20c1b4-902a-497b-9bac-18fcd13e8e46.jpg?v=1771681583"},{"product_id":"9781529151022","title":"The Finest Hotel in Kabul : A People’s History of Afghanistan","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Doucet, Lyse \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAfghanistan\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 18 September 2025 by Cornerstone (Hutchinson Heinemann) in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHardback | 448 pages\u003cbr\u003e242 x 165 x 42 | 720g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTop 3 Sunday Times BestsellerShortlisted for the Nero Book AwardLonglisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-FictionThe Times, Financial Times, Guardian, Observer and Economist Book of the Year 2025A sweeping and immersive history of modern Afghanistan – the first book from one of the world’s leading war correspondents.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Simply unforgettable' ELIF SHAFAK'Terrific' THE TIMES'Incredible' PETER FRANKOPAN'Powerful and charming' FINANCIAL TIMES'Utterly compelling' PHILIPPE SANDS'Masterly' TELEGRAPH'Ingenious' KAMILA SHAMSIE'A must-read' SUNDAY TIMES'Beautiful' RORY STEWARTIn 1969, the luxury Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul opened its doors: a glistening white box, high on a hill, that reflected Afghanistan’s hopes of becoming a modern country, connected to the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLyse Doucet first checked into the Inter-Continental on Christmas Eve 1988. In the decades since, she has witnessed a Soviet evacuation, a devastating civil war, the US invasion, and the rise, fall and rise of the Taliban, all from within its increasingly battered walls. The Inter-Con has never closed its doors.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow, she weaves together the experiences of the Afghans who have kept the hotel running to craft a richly immersive history of their country. It is the story of Hazrat, the septuagenarian housekeeper who still holds fast to his Inter-Continental training from the hotel’s 1970s glory days – an era of haute cuisine and high fashion, when Afghanistan was a kingdom and Kabul was the ‘Paris of Central Asia’. Of Abida, who became the first female chef after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. And of Malalai and Sadeq, the twenty-somethings who seized every opportunity offered by two decades of fragile democracy – only to see the Taliban come roaring back in 2021.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThrough these intimate portraits of Afghan life, the story of a hotel becomes the story of a people.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Fabulous . . . A cross between the novel A Gentleman in Moscow and Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.' THE TIMES'The Finest Hotel in Kabul plays to all Lyse Doucet’s strengths. Clarity, empathy, depth of knowledge and innate grasp of fine detail . . . a most readable account of joy, despair and resilience in one of the world’s most fascinating countries.' MICHAEL PALIN'A deeply humane story of Afghanistan revealing the impact of decades of upheaval on everyday lives.' JUDGES OF THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION'Full of warmth, wit, and a lovely eye for the human stories that make the hotel not just a monument to tragedy, but also love and resilience . . . This is the book about an Afghanistan I never knew that I always wanted to read.' FINANCIAL TIMES\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bookshop Mold","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55298513043832,"sku":"9781529151022","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0277\/7802\/3522\/files\/9781529151022_0f8e538a-4886-4422-b0e2-73dc3f3e43a2.jpg?v=1773927425"},{"product_id":"9781529935530","title":"Art Cure : The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Fancourt, Daisy \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003ePsychotherapy\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 8 January 2026 by Cornerstone (Cornerstone Press) in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHardback | 352 pages\u003cbr\u003e163 x 243 x 33 | 556g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDiscover how art can improve our health, make us happier and even help us live longer with the inspiring new book from the award-winning scientist and world-leading expert.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Every day we are overwhelmed by advice on how to live better. Art Cure is an amazing antidote to the deluge of nonsense . . . Everyone should read this.' XAND VAN TULLEKEN, doctor and presenter'Elegantly distils the evidence for what we have always intuitively felt; that music, literature, cinema, and art are powerful universal remedies . . . A book for our times.' GILLIAN ANDERSON, bestselling author, actress and activistDIET. SLEEP. EXERCISE. NATURE. ARTS?Many of us consider making and consuming art to be a hobby, or even a luxury. But what if arts engagement – from classical music to salsa, poetry to pop concerts, galleries to graffiti – was in fact one of our most powerful tools for unlocking health and happiness?What if art could help you live longer – and even save your life?In Art Cure, world-leading expert and award-winning scientist Professor Daisy Fancourt reveals the life-changing power of the arts, including how:Songs support the architectural development of children’s brains.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCreative hobbies help our brains to stay resilient against dementia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVisual art and music act just like drugs to reduce depression, stress, and pain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDance build new neural pathways for people with brain injuries.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGoing to live music events, museums, exhibitions, and the theatre decreases our risk of future loneliness and frailty.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEngaging in the arts improves the functioning of every major organ system in the body.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd, perhaps most importantly, how art helps us not only to survive, but to thrive and flourish.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFancourt draws on ground-breaking research in neuroscience, psychology, immunology, physiology, behavioural science and epidemiology, as well as inspiring true stories of people who have experienced radical changes in their health, to empower readers to improve their own health through the arts.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInformed by the results of decades of scientific studies, Art Cure is the must-read, inspiring guide to improving your health, giving you the tools to write your own 'arts prescription'.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A revelation . . . Could not be more timely, nor make a stronger, more urgent case for placing the arts at the centre of our communities.' MELYN BRAGG, broadcaster and parliamentarian'Fascinating, comprehensive, compelling, inspiring.' DR CHRISTOPHER BAILEY, World Health Organization\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bookshop Mold","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55429253693816,"sku":"9781529935530","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0277\/7802\/3522\/files\/9781529935530_e1aea89d-5cb9-4334-888d-99b63b87e785.jpg?v=1773927723"},{"product_id":"9780241679630","title":"Hotel Exile : Paris in the Shadow of War","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Rogoyska, Jane \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eFrance\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 26 February 2026 by Penguin Books Ltd (Allen Lane) in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHardback | 368 pages\u003cbr\u003e164 x 242 x 36 | 580g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR NONFICTION A FOYLES TOP TEN READ FOR FEBRUARY | A 2026 HIGHLIGHT IN THE FINANCIAL TIMES, EVENING STANDARD AND THE BOOKSELLER A meeting place for Europe’s bohemian artists. A headquarters of the Nazi occupation. A shelter for camp survivors.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is the true story of how one Paris hotel came to hold the weight of a century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Hotel Lutetia is a Paris institution, the only ‘grand’ hotel on the city’s bohemian Left Bank. Ever since it opened, it has served as a meeting place for artists, musicians and politicians. André Gide took his lunch here, James Joyce lived in one of its rooms, Picasso and Matisse were regular guests. It has a darker history, too. During one short period, it became a focus for some of the most dramatic and terrible events in recent history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the 1930s the Hotel Lutetia attracted intellectuals and political activists, forced to flee their homes when Hitler came to power, who met here with the hope of forming an alternative government. But when war came, Paris was occupied, and the hotel became the headquarters of the German military intelligence service – and the centre of their operation to root out enemies of the Reich. In 1945, the Lutetia was requisitioned once more, this time transformed into a reception centre for deportees returning from concentration camps.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHotel Exile is about what happens on the edges of a war. At its heart are three groups of people connected to a place, to one another, and to the dark ideology which dictates the course of their lives. A masterpiece of empathy and concision, Jane Rogoyska’s extraordinary new book offers us a vision of individual human beings desperately trying to find a path through some of the twentieth century’s most devastating events.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bookshop Mold","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55504674259320,"sku":"9780241679630","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0277\/7802\/3522\/files\/9780241679630.jpg?v=1773927377"},{"product_id":"9781529095883","title":"Artists, Siblings, Visionaries : The lives and loves of Gwen and Augustus John","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Mackrell, Judith \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eBiography \u0026amp; True Stories\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 19 March 2026 by PAN MACMILLAN (Picador) in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaperback | 448 pages\u003cbr\u003e130 x 197 x 29 | 330g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION'Outstanding' - The Guardian'Superb' - The Telegraph'A must read' - Anne Sebba'Lively' - The TimesThey seemed to be polar opposites . . . Augustus: vivid, volatile and promiscuous. He was a hero among romantics and bohemians, celebrated as one of the great British talents of his generation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGwen’s art was magnificent, but she was also more reserved, and as a woman she struggled for the recognition which has only come to her now, years after her death.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eArtists, Siblings, Visionaries is a riveting story of love, infidelity, betrayal, and of two extraordinary siblings whose art and lives subverted society’s expectations.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bookshop Mold","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55515373142392,"sku":"9781529095883","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0277\/7802\/3522\/files\/9781529095883.jpg?v=1774702852"},{"product_id":"9781837262021","title":"Nation of Strangers : Rebuilding Home in the 21st Century","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Temelkuran, Ece \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003e21st century\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 12 February 2026 by Canongate Books in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHardback | 256 pages\u003cbr\u003e221 x 144 x 27 | 360g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION'Ece Temelkuran is a brilliant thinker' Omar El Akkad'Her most ambitious and dazzling book yet' Brian Eno'Perhaps the most urgent and necessary book of our times' Michael MorpurgoDear stranger. Are you home? Do you feel at home? For how much longer? Across the world the number of refugees and exiles, the dispossessed and displaced, the politically homeless and the economically excluded is growing. In the decade since she left her own home, Ece Temelkuran has been a political Cassandra, warning those convinced it couldn't happen in their country that fascism is coming.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow, as oppression spreads and temperatures rise - as we face competing crises and learn, again and again, that no institution is so concrete it can't turn to dust, and no home is too strong to be destroyed - she has written Nation of Strangers: a series of letters from one stranger to another. Politically attuned and deeply personal, this extraordinary, heartening correspondence is a gift to treasure in uncertain times. As poetic as it is precise, it is a book for anyone who feels alienated by an ever-more monstrous world. 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