nonfiction

“Who is a Pakistani writer?” Sabyn Javeri thought when asked to put together an anthology of essays by Pakistani women writers. She was thinking about who has the right to call herself a Pakistani writer “in this age of mass displacement.” Ways of Being: Creative Non-Fiction by Pakistani Women, a collection of 15 personal essays, has an impressive roster. Each woman responds to Javeri’s question beyond geography, delineating what it means to be a Pakistani writer. These are essays about writing and migration, yes, but…

Serendipity dictated that the American writer and academic James Shapiro received the Baillie Gifford prize for nonfiction’s Winner of Winners award, given to celebrate its 25th year, at a ceremony in Edinburgh. In his teens and early 20s, Shapiro tells me as we talk over Zoom the morning after his victory, he would often hitchhike from London to the Edinburgh festival as part of his immersion in the plays of Shakespeare. This period in his life sowed the ground for his acclaimed book, 1599: A Year in the Life of William…

A book about a pivotal year in William Shakespeare’s life has been named the Baillie Gifford Winner of Winners in a special announcement to mark the 25th anniversary of the prestigious nonfiction prize.James Shapiro’s 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare originally won the award in 2006, when it was known as the Samuel Johnson prize. He has been honoured again at a ceremony at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, and will receive £25,000. The chair of judges, the New Statesman’s editor-in-chief Jason…

Prince Harry’s Spare has sold almost half a million copies in the UK in its first week on sale, making it the fastest-selling nonfiction book since records began.According to Nielsen, Spare sold a total of 467,183 print copies through UK retailers in its first week of release, making it No 1 on the book charts. This does not include ebook sales or audiobook copies.Penguin Random House (PRH) UK said the book had sold 750,000 copies in the UK across all formats – hardbacks, ebooks and audiobooks – in its first week. Of…

Prince Harry’s autobiography has become the UK’s fastest-selling nonfiction book ever, recording figures of 400,000 on its first day on sale.The controversial memoir Spare has made headlines in the weeks leading up to its publication, finally hitting the shelves on Tuesday. Figures include sales for hardbacks, ebooks and audiobooks.Larry Finlay, the managing director of Transworld Penguin Random House, said: “We always knew this book would fly but it is exceeding even our most bullish expectations.“As far as we know, the…

Steven PinkerShortly after publishing my book The Better Angels of Our Nature, on the historical decline of violence, I attended a conference sponsored by a foreign policy magazine at which a journalist asked me: “What would it take to eliminate extreme poverty worldwide?” Thinking it was a trick question, I quipped: “Redefine ‘poverty’.” An eavesdropping economist said to me: “That was a cynical answer”, and recommended a short new book by the development expert Charles Kenny called Getting Better.Though I already knew…

The first major book event of 2023 was supposed to be the publication of Prince Harry’s long-awaited (OK, opinions may vary) memoir, Spare (Penguin, January). But that was before a certain six-hour Netflix show, as a result of which it seems highly unlikely his literary effort will contain anything we haven’t heard already. So let us, having spared only the briefest of thoughts for his livid publisher, turn our attention instead to some other forthcoming memoirs, in what looks set to be a bumper year for autobiography. At…

Katherine Rundell has won the £50,000 Baillie Gifford prize for non-fiction for her book about the poet John Donne, described by the judges as a “‘glorious celebration” of his work and life.Rundell, who is best known for her children’s books, has said Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne took her 10 years and three drafts to write. It showcases the myriad lives of Donne, who, as well as being a renowned poet was a scholar of law, a sea adventurer, an MP, a priest, and the dean of St Paul’s Cathedral during…

A friend was talking at a recent social gathering. He had much to say, and he was both entertaining and analytical. We listened, putting in a question or a comment once in a while. He was an engaging person, a start-up advisor, and an avid, non-traditional pursuer of knowledge, through articles, online events, and books. He referred to a few popular favourites -- Ankur Warikoo’s Do Epic Shit and Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens -- and then got deeply engrossed in contemporary politics. A couple of us from the world of…

Fenton Bailey has turned his attention to print. The World of Wonder co-founder and Emmy Award-winning RuPaul’s Drag Race insider will publish a nonfiction book about subjects he knows well — pop culture and the small screen — in ScreenAge: How TV Shaped Our Reality, From Tammy Faye to RuPaul’s Drag Race. From Ebury Press, the tome will be released in the U.K. on Nov. 17, followed by a U.S. launch in 2023. Per the official synopsis, ScreenAge is “packed with industry insider accounts and amazing…