Non-fiction books have always been viewed as a blander genre than their fiction counterparts. However, just because books are grounded in reality does not mean that they can’t be just as vibrant and captivating as those that aren’t. This is especially true as more and more authors are given platforms that allow them to showcase their creativity and pedigrees. Which leads us to the first-ever Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction. Join us today at What We Reading as we celebrate some of the most accomplished female authors and their work with the best books nominated for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction.
What Is The Women’s Prize For Non-Fiction?
The Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction is the first major book prize designed to sit alongside the iconic Women’s Prize for Fiction award. It has been established to promote the expertise of women in certain fields and recognise the very best non-fiction narratives by female authors. A panel of five women select the winners, with any female writer published in the UK and writing in English being able to participate in the annual event.
Vulture Capitalism: Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts And The Death Of Freedom – Grace Blakeley
First up on our list of the best books from the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction 2024 is Grace Blakeley’s social justice commentary, Vulture Capitalism. In it, the renowned journalist exposes how so many of us have been taught that free-market capitalism is needed to preserve our freedoms and justice, even as economies falter, politics becomes more polarised and corporations are routinely bailed out by governments.
By tracing back over a century’s worth of planning and backdoor bailouts, Blakely exposes the corporate crimes, economic manipulation and political manoeuvring that have led to a decline in competition and a global system of economies that benefit the uber-wealthy at the expense of everyone else. By showing the cracks in the system, Vulture Capitalism offers a path forward for how we can go about democratising our economic and political states, promoting a better society for all.
All That She Carried: The Journey Of Ashley’s Sack, A Black Family Keepsake – Tiya Miles
In a small case in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, there is a rough cotton bag called Ashley’s Sack. There are just a couple of words embroidered on its fabric, but it tells a sweeping portrait of loss and love that a family have passed down for generations.
Tiya Miles’ 2024 history book All That She Carried introduces readers to an enslaved woman named Rose who, faced with the imminent sale of her nine-year-old daughter, Ashley, packed this small cotton bag with a few items. Decades later, Ashley’s granddaughter, Ruth, embroidered this family history with just a few, but haunting, words. Miles unearths the history of this family and one object in a poignant tale of resourcefulness and resilience, demonstrating how creativity and love can be found even when society refuses to acknowledge it.
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Eve: How The Female Boddy Drove 200 Million Years Of Human Evolution – Cat Bohannon
As well as being Nominated for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, Cat Bohannon’s Eve was also listed as a Goodreads Choice Award nominee for Best Non-Fiction. The book is an eye-opening account of human development. But, whereas most books about evolution have historically focused on the male form, Eve shines the spotlight firmly on women’s bodies.
Through fascinating questions such as why women live longer than men to the similarities between pus and breast milk, Bohannon covers over two hundred million years of history and reveals the most groundbreaking scientific discoveries. Hard-hitting and seriously researched it is one of the most exciting science books of the past few years and a timely corrective for a field that has so far been dominated by a single lens.
Some People Need Killing: A Memoir Of Murder In My Country – Patricia Evangelista
Some People Need Killing is a 2023 memoir by journalist Patricia Evangelista. Spanning six years, she chronicles the brutal killings by police and vigilantes during Phillippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs – a campaign that led to the deaths of thousands. Stunningly researched and vivid in its dark atmosphere, Evangelista immerses herself in a world of killers and survivors, capturing the terror experienced by all through her witness testimony.
One of the best pieces of journalism in the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, Some People Need Killing is a profound dissection of violence, as well as a compelling examination of the human urges to both dominate and resist.
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Code-Dependant: Living In The Shadow Of AI – Madhumita Murgia
In Code-Dependant, Madhumita Murgia shows how artificial intelligence and automated systems are changing the daily lives of everyone across the globe. By demonstrating how platforms like ChatGPT and social media have already infiltrated our lives, the book exposes how AI can strip away our concept of free will, our shared sense of agency, and how it has already begun imprinting on our finances, work, education and even basic human rights.
From the enclaves of Silicon Valley to Chinese activists in exile, Code-Dependant not only demonstrates the threat AI poses to our humanity but also our inability to decide on what morals and preferences we even want to encode on them. A timely warning on what the future of AI could mean for us, Murgia’s work is chilling, compelling and alarmingly convincing.
Matrescene – Lucy Jones
Lucy Jones brings readers one of the most fascinating examinations of the transition into motherhood and its effects on the brain, mind and body in her parenting book, Matrescene.
Deeply personal and ground-breaking in its research, Jones’ work sheds light on the new concept of ‘matrescene’, drawing on new research from fields ranging from psychoanalysis, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, economics and sociology to existential therapy to demonstrate how the changes in a maternal mind and body are far more profound than most realise. The result is not only one of the most interesting books for mothers but also serves as a convincing reminder of the dangers of neglecting the maternal experience and oppressive social norms surrounding femininity and individual identity.
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Doppelganger: A Trip Into The Mirror World – Naomi Klein
What would you do if you woke up one morning and found you’d acquired another self who shared most of your traits and skills? Only instead of furthering the causes you believed in, they championed all the worst, most harmful things you stand against? That was the situation activist Naomi Klein found herself in, paving the inspiration for her Women’s Prize For Non-Fiction book, Doppelganger.
After discovering a woman who shared her name but who had radically different views was being constantly mistaken for her in publish, Klein documents how she became gripped by the distorted sense of reality that came with it; obsessing over internet trolls, endlessly scrolling through hate comments from the followers of her doppelganger. A memoir delivered with journalist-worthy reporting and a scathing social commentary message, Doppelganger delves into how our modern digital world has made our identities – the only true thing we have – suddenly so fragile.
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Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
