Baillie Gifford prize: six books shortlisted for ‘winner of winners’ award

Finalists for honour spotlighting the best of the non-fiction prize’s 25-year history include studies of the Beatles, Shakespeare and the Treaty of Versailles

Six books of “high ambition, formal innovation and thrilling originality” make up the shortlist for the Baillie Gifford prize for non-fiction’s winner of winners award.

The £25,000 prize marks the 25th anniversary of the prize, with the judges choosing their shortlist from the previous 24 years of the prize. The shortlist spans history, narrative-driven reportage, investigative journalism, and literary and cultural biography.