Shortlists have been released for the 2025 Westminster Book Awards, which is presented by the Booksellers Association of the U.K. & Ireland and the Publishers Association to recognize "excellent political writing" in three categories, the Bookseller reported.
Books were nominated by publishers, with authors and booksellers selecting the shortlists. Parliamentarians will vote to decide the category winners, who will be honored at the Houses of Parliament on February 4. This year's shortlisted titles are:
Nonfiction or fiction by a parliamentarian
The New Total War: From Child Abduction to Cyber Attacks and Drones to Disinformation by Bob Seely
The Football Battalions: The Elite Footballers Who Fought in the Great War by Christopher Evans
Eclipsing the West: China, India and the Forging of a New World by Vince Cable
Breaking the Taboo: Why We Need to Talk about Birth Trauma by Theo Clarke
Biography by a parliamentarian
Frankly by Nicola Sturgeon
Why I Care: And Why Care Matters by Ed Davey
The Most Dangerous Man in Britain? The Political Writings of Tony Benn by Tony Benn (with an introduction by Melissa Benn)
A Life and a Half by Chris Bryant
Political book by a non-parliamentarian
Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams
The Eyes of Gaza by Plestia Alaqad
A Barrister for the Earth by Monica Feria-Tinta
A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern
BA managing director Meryl Halls said: "At a time when readers around the world are seeing their freedom to choose and buy the books they want already compromised or actively eroded, it is more important than ever that we in the U.K. celebrate the freedoms we are privileged to hold--the freedom for readers to buy, and for bookshops to curate titles from every corner of intellectual thought, political perspective and rigorous research. With this year's shortlist tackling issues from disinformation and big tech to the climate crisis and political leadership, we are delighted, as always, to gather at Westminster to champion the nuanced, researched and impactful political writing that we in the U.K. are fortunate to be free to publish, sell and read."