THE PRIZE
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.
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.
WHO WE ARE
The Duff Cooper Prize is run by the Duff Cooper Memorial Fund, set up in 1956. The charity’s trustees are the Warden and Fellows of New College, Oxford.
The Prize judging committee is chaired by writer Artemis Cooper. As Duff’s grand-daughter, she is an ex-officio jury member, alongside the current Warden of New College, Miles Young.
The other judges, each appointed for a five-year period, are:
- Mark Amory, former literary editor of The Spectator
- Dr Susan Brigden, former Reader in Early Modern History at the University of Oxford
- David Horspool, history editor at the Times Literary Supplement.
