WHAT We Do

The £5,000 Prize is awarded for a work of non-fiction published in English within the current year. Genres shortlisted in the past include history, biography, travel and nature writing, politics, poetry and literary criticism.

The shortlist for any given year is announced early in the following year. Thus the shortlist for 2022 was revealed in early 2023, and the 2022 winner was announced on 6 March 2023.

By tradition, the five-strong jury call in the books for consideration directly from the publishers. Direct submissions from authors are not accepted.

Should you however wish to bring a book to the jury’s attention, please send an email to DuffCooperPrize@gmail.com with details of the work. We will get back to you if the judges wish to consider the book.

  • No manuscripts or bound typescripts will be accepted.
  • Works translated from another language are not eligible.
  • The author must be living at the time of publication.
  • The book must be published in the United Kingdom.
  • The publisher should be a member of the Publishers Association.
  • All copies of the book submitted to the Administrator and the judges of the Duff Cooper Prize are non-returnable.
  • The Administrator’s decision on whether or not to accept a book as a contender is final, and not open to discussion.

 

Artemis, Laurent, Anna

The Pol Roger Duff Cooper prize was awarded on March 6th 2023 to Anna Keay for The Restless Republic: Britain without a Crown. R to L: Artemis Cooper, Laurent d’Harcourt, Anna Keay. Photograph by Adrian Pope