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Annual award for writing
The Royal Society Science Books Prize is an annual £25,000 prize awarded by the Royal Society to celebrate outstanding popular science books from around the world.[ 1] It is open to authors of science books written for a non-specialist audience, and since it was established in 1988 has championed writers such as Stephen Hawking , Jared Diamond , Stephen Jay Gould and Bill Bryson . In 2015 The Guardian described the prize as "the most prestigious science book prize in Britain".[ 2]
History
The Royal Society established the Science Books Prize in 1988 with the aim of encouraging the writing, publishing and reading of good and accessible popular science books. Its name has varied according to sponsorship agreements.
Years
Name
Sponsor
1990 – 2000
Rhône-Poulenc Prize for Science Books
Rhône-Poulenc
2001 – 2006
Aventis Prize for Science Books
Aventis
2007 – 2010
Royal Society Prize for Science Books
none
2011 – 2015
Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books
Winton Group
2016 – 2022
Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize
Insight Investment [ 3]
2023 –
Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize
Trivedi Foundation
Judging process
A panel of judges decides the shortlist and the winner of the Prize each year. The panel is chaired by a fellow of the Royal Society and includes authors, scientists and media personalities. The judges for the 2016 prize included author Bill Bryson , theoretical physicist Dr Clare Burrage, science fiction author Alastair Reynolds , ornithologist and science blogger GrrlScientist, and author and director of external affairs at the Science Museum Group , Roger Highfield .[ 3] In 2019, the jury consisted of Sir Nigel Shadbolt , Shukry James Habib , Dorothy Koomson , Stephen McGann , and Gwyneth Williams .[ 4]
All books entered for the prize must be published in English for the first time between September and October the preceding year. The winner is announced at an award ceremony and receives £25,000. Each of the other shortlisted authors receives £2,500.[ 1]
Shortlisted books
Before 2000
2000s
Royal Society Prizes for Science Books winners, 2000-2009[ 5]
Year
Author
Title
Result
Ref.
2000
Brian Greene
The Elegant Universe
Winner
Thomas Dormandy
The White Death
Finalist
John Naughton
A Brief History of the Future
Matt Ridley
Genome
Jonathan Weiner
Time, Love, Memory: A Great Biologist and His Quest for the Origins of Behavior
Christopher Wills
Children of Prometheus
2001
Robert Kunzig
Mapping the Deep
Winner
Steve Grand
Creation: Life and How to Make It
Finalist
George Johnson
Strange Beauty
Mark Ridley
Mendel's Demon
Paul Strathern
Mendeleyev's Dream
Lewis Wolpert
Malignant Sadness
2002
Stephen Hawking
The Universe in a Nutshell
Winner
[ 7]
Martin Gorst
Aeons:The Search for the Beginning of Time
Finalist
Hannah Holmes
The Secret Life of Dust
David Horrobin
The Madness of Adam and Eve: Did Schizophrenia Shape Humanity?
Robert M. Sapolsky
A Primate's Memoir
Michael White
Rivals: Conflict as the Fuel of Science
2003
Chris McManus
Right Hand, Left Hand
Winner
Mark Buchanan
Small World
Finalist
Gerd Gigerenzer
Reckoning With Risk
Robert P. Kirshner
The Extravagant Universe
Steven Pinker
The Blank Slate
Stephen Webb
Where Is Everybody?
2004
Bill Bryson
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Winner
[ 8]
Andrew Brown
In The Beginning Was the Worm
Finalist
Nigel Calder
Magic Universe
Armand Marie Leroi
Mutants: On Genetic Variety and the Human Body
Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham
How to Clone the Perfect Blonde
Matt Ridley
Nature Via Nurture
Francis Spufford
Backroom Boys
2005
Philip Ball
Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads to Another
Winner
Richard Dawkins
The Ancestor's Tale
Finalist
Douwe Draaisma
Why Life Speeds Up As You Get Older
Griffith Edwards
Matters Of Substance: Drugs - And Why Everyone's A User
Richard Fortey
The Earth: An Intimate History
Robert Winston
The Human Mind
2006
David Bodanis
Electric Universe: How Electricity Switched on the Modern World
Winner
[ 9]
Jared Diamond
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Finalist
[ 6]
Michio Kaku
Parallel Worlds: The Science of Alternative Universes and our Future in the Cosmos
Nick Lane
Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life
Arthur I. Miller
Empire of the Stars: Friendship, Obsession and Betrayal in the Quest for Black Holes
Vivienne Parry
The Truth About Hormones: What's Going on when We're Tetchy, Spotty, Fearful, Tearful or Just Plain Awful
2007^
Daniel Gilbert
Stumbling on Happiness
Winner
[ 10]
Robert Henson
The Rough Guide to Climate Change
Finalist
Eric R. Kandel
In Search of Memory
Henry Nicholls
Lonesome George
Chris Stringer
Homo Britannicus
Adam Wishart
One in Three
2008
Mark Lynas
Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet
Winner
[ 11]
Stuart Clark
The Sun Kings: The Unexpected Tragedy of Richard Carrington and the Tale of How Modern Astronomy Began
Finalist
Gerd Gigerenzer
Gut Feelings
Steve Jones
Coral: A Pessimist in Paradise
Ian Stewart
Why Beauty is Truth: A History of Symmetry
J. Craig Venter
A Life Decoded, My Genome: My Life
2009
Richard Holmes
The Age of Wonder
Winner
[ 12]
Avery Gilbert
What the Nose Knows
Finalist
[ 12] [ 13]
Ben Goldacre
Bad Science
[ 12] [ 13]
Jo Marchant
Decoding the Heavens
[ 12] [ 13]
Leonard Mlodinow
The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives
[ 12] [ 13]
Neil Shubin
Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body
[ 12] [ 13]
2010
Nick Lane
Life Ascending
Winner
[ 14] [ 15]
Marcus Chown
We Need To Talk About Kelvin
Finalist
[ 16]
Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw
Why Does E=mc2?
[ 17]
Frederick Grinnell
Everyday Practice of Science: Where Intuition and Passion Meet Objectivity and Logic
[ 18]
James Hannam
God's Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science
[ 19]
Henry Pollack
A World Without Ice
[ 20]
2010s
Royal Society Prizes for Science Books winners, 2010-2019[ 5]
Year
Author
Title
Result
Ref.
2011
Gavin Pretor-Pinney
The Wavewatcher's Companion
Winner
[ 21]
Alex Bellos
Alex’s Adventures in Numberland
Finalist
[ 22]
Guy Deutscher
Through the Language Glass: How Words Colour Your World
[ 23]
Sam Kean
The Disappearing Spoon
Ian Sample
Massive: The Missing Particle That Sparked the Greatest Hunt in Science
[ 24]
Jon Turney
The Rough Guide to The Future
[ 25]
2012
James Gleick
The Information
Winner
[ 26] [ 27]
Joshua Foer
Moonwalking with Einstein
Finalist
[ 28]
Lone Frank
My Beautiful Genome
[ 29]
Brian Greene
The Hidden Reality
[ 30]
Steven Pinker
The Better Angels of Our Nature
Nathan Wolfe
The Viral Storm
[ 31]
2013
Sean Carroll
The Particle at the End of the Universe
Winner
[ 32] [ 33]
Tim Birkhead
Bird Sense
Finalist
[ 34] [ 35]
Enrico Coen
Cells to Civilizations: The Principles of Change That Shape Life
[ 36] [ 35]
Charles Fernyhough
Pieces of Light: The New Science of Memory
[ 35]
Caspar Henderson
The Book of Barely Imagined Beings
[ 37] [ 35]
Callum Roberts
Ocean of Life
[ 38] [ 35]
2014
Mark Miodownik
Stuff Matters: The Strange Stories of the Marvellous Materials that Shape Our Man-made World
Winner
[ 39]
Philip Ball
Serving the Reich: The Struggle for the Soul of Physics under Hitler
Finalist
[ 40] [ 41]
John Browne
Seven Elements That Have Changed The World: Iron, Carbon, Gold, Silver, Uranium, Titanium, Silicon
[ 42] [ 41]
Pedro G. Ferreira
The Perfect Theory: A Century of Geniuses and the Battle over General Relativity
[ 43] [ 41]
George Johnson
The Cancer Chronicles: Unlocking Medicine's Deepest Mystery
[ 41]
Mary Roach
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal
[ 44] [ 41]
2015
Gaia Vince
Adventures in the Anthropocene: A Journey to the Heart of the Planet We Made
Winner
[ 2] [ 45]
David Adam
The Man Who Couldn’t Stop
Finalist
[ 46]
Alex Bellos
Alex Through the Looking-Glass: How Life Reflects Numbers and Numbers Reflect Life
Jon Butterworth
Smashing Physics
Matthew Cobb
Life’s Greatest Secret
Johnjoe McFadden and Jim Al-Khalili
Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology
2016
Andrea Wulf
The Invention of Nature: The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt, the Lost Hero of Science
Winner
[ 47] [ 48]
Tim Birkhead
The Most Perfect Thing: Inside (and Outside) a Bird's Egg
Finalist
[ 49]
Thomas Levenson
The Hunt for Vulcan: ... and How Albert Einstein Destroyed a Planet, Discovered Relativity, and Deciphered the Universe
Jo Marchant
Cure: A Journey Into the Science of Mind over Body
Oliver Morton
The Planet Remade: How Geoengineering Could Change the World
Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Gene: An Intimate History
2017
Cordelia Fine
Testosterone Rex : Unmaking the Myths of Our Gendered Minds
Winner
[ 50] [ 51]
Eugenia Cheng
Beyond Infinity : An Expedition to the Outer Limits of the Mathematical Universe
Finalist
[ 52]
Peter Godfrey-Smith
Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life
Joseph Jebelli
In Pursuit of Memory: The Fight Against Alzheimer's
Mark O'Connell
To Be a Machine : Adventures Among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers, and the Futurists Solving the Modest Problem of Death
Ed Yong
I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
2018
Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain
Winner
[ 53] [ 54]
Lucy Cooke
The Unexpected Truth About Animals
Finalist
[ 55]
Daniel M. Davis
The Beautiful Cure: Harnessing Your Body’s Natural Defences
Hannah Fry
Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine
Mark Miodownik
Liquid: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives
Simon Winchester
Exactly: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World
2019
Caroline Criado Perez
Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
Winner
[ 56] [ 57] [ 58]
John Gribbin
Six Impossible Things
Finalist
[ 59]
Monty Lyman
The Remarkable Life of the Skin
Tim Smedley
Clearing the Air
Paul Steinhardt
The Second Kind of Impossible
Steven Strogatz
Infinite Powers
2020s
References
^ a b The Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize, Royal Society
^ a b Sample, Ian (24 September 2015). "Top science book prize won by woman for first time" . The Guardian . London. Retrieved 22 June 2016 .
^ a b Carpenter, Caroline (17 June 2016). "Science Book Prize gets new sponsor" . The Bookseller . London. Retrieved 22 June 2016 .
^ "Judging panel 2019" . royalsociety.org . Retrieved 7 August 2019 .
^ a b c d "Past Winners & Shortlisted Books - Science Book Prize" . The Royal Society . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ a b c Pauli, Michelle (13 April 2006). "Diamond in the running for Aventis hat-trick" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Ian, Sample (26 April 2007). "Tale of a sexless tortoise shortlisted for science book prize" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Alison, Flood (4 August 2016). "Bill Bryson hails 'thrilling' Royal Society science book prize shortlist" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Ian, Sample; Randerson, James (17 May 2006). "Science book winner donates prize to David Kelly's family" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Alok, Jha (15 May 2007). "Search for happiness scoops science prize" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Lindesay, Irvine (17 June 2008). "Lynas's Six Degrees wins Royal Society award" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ a b c d e f "Prize for wonder of science past" . BBC . 15 September 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2016 .
^ a b c d e Tim, Radford (8 September 2009). "Royal Society Science Book Prize: The shortlist" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ "Royal Society's science book prize will be the last" . BBC . 21 October 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2016 .
^ Ian, Sample (21 October 2010). "Nick Lane wins Royal Society science book prize for Life Ascending" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Tim, Radford (13 October 2010). "We Need to Talk about Kelvin by Marcus Chown – review" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Alok, Jha (18 October 2010). "Why Does E=mc2? by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw – review" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Tim, Radford (14 October 2010). "Everyday Practice of Science by Frederick Grinnell – review" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Tim, Radford (15 October 2010). "God's Philosophers by James Hannam – review" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Ian, Sample (20 October 2010). "A World Without Ice by Henry Pollack – review" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Connor, Steve (18 November 2011). "Expert in idleness is surprise winner of science book prize" . The Independent . Retrieved 22 June 2016 .
^ Alok, Jha (9 November 2011). "Alex's Adventures in Numberland by Alex Bellos – review | Royal Society science book prize" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Tim, Radford (8 November 2011). "Through the Language Glass by Guy Deutscher – review | Royal Society science book prize" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Jon, Butterworth (7 November 2011). "Massive: The Hunt for the God Particle by Ian Sample – review | Royal Society science book prize" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ James, Kingsland (11 November 2011). "The Rough Guide to the Future by Jon Turney – review | Royal Society science book prize" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Radford, Tim (27 November 2012). "Royal Society Winton prize for science goes to James Gleick" . The Guardian . London. Retrieved 22 June 2016 .
^ Tim, Radford (27 November 2012). "Royal Society Winton prize for science goes to James Gleick" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Tim, Radford (21 November 2012). "Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer – review | Tim Radford" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Tim, Radford (24 November 2012). "My Beautiful Genome: exposing our genetic future, one quirk at a time – review" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Ian, Sample (20 November 2012). "The Hidden Reality by Brian Greene – book review | Ian Sample" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ James, Kingsland (23 November 2012). "The Viral Storm by Nathan Wolfe – book review | James Kingsland" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Bury, Liz (26 November 2013). "Royal Society Winton Prize goes to 'rock star' science book" . The Guardian . London. Retrieved 22 June 2016 .
^ Liz, Bury (26 November 2013). "Royal Society Winton Prize goes to 'rock star' science book" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Tim, Radford (21 November 2013). "Bird Sense: What it's Like to be a Bird, by Tim Birkhead – review" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ a b c d e "Royal Society Winton prize for science books: the shortlist - in pictures" . The Guardian . 26 September 2013. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ James, Kingsland (19 November 2013). "Cells to Civilizations, by Enrico Coen – review" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Alok, Jha (23 November 2013). "The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, by Caspar Henderson – review" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Tim, Radford (18 November 2013). "Ocean of Life: How our Seas are Changing, by Callum Roberts – review" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ "Materials book wins Royal Society Winton Prize" . BBC . London. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2016 .
^ Tim, Radford (3 November 2014). "Royal Society books shortlist: Serving the Reich by Philip Ball – review" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ a b c d e GrrlScientist (19 September 2014). "Royal Society 2014 Winton Prize for Science Books shortlist announced" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Ian, Sample (10 November 2014). "Royal Society books shortlist: Seven Elements That Have Changed the World by John Browne – review" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Tim, Radford (5 November 2014). "Royal Society books shortlist: The Perfect Theory by Pedro G Ferreira – review" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Nicola, Davis (6 November 2014). "Royal Society books shortlist: Gulp by Mary Roach – review" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Tim, Radford (23 September 2015). "Adventures in the Anthropocene by Gaia Vince – review" . The Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Tim, Radford (5 August 2015). "Royal Society Winton prize 2015 shortlist announced" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ "The Royal Society announces Andrea Wulf as the winner of the Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2016" . The Royal Society . 19 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016 .
^ Allison, Flood (19 September 2016). "Alexander von Humboldt biography wins Royal Society science book prize" . The Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ "Shortlist for The Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2016 unveiled" . royalsociety.org . Retrieved 22 September 2016 .
^ Armitstead, Claire (19 September 2017). "Testosterone Rex triumphs as Royal Society science book of the year" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ "Shortlist for The Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2017 explores life's big questions" . The Royal Society . Retrieved 3 September 2017 .
^ "Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize" . royalsociety.org . Retrieved 19 September 2017 .
^ Cain, Sian (1 October 2018). "Myth-busting study of teenage brains wins Royal Society prize" . the Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ "Shortlist for The Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2018 revealed" . The Royal Society . 2 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2017 .
^ Cain, Sian (1 October 2018). "Myth-busting study of teenage brains wins Royal Society prize" . The Guardian . Retrieved 2 October 2018 .
^ "Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2019" . The Royal Society . Retrieved 27 August 2019 .
^ Flood, Alison (23 September 2019). " 'Brilliant exposé' of gender data gap wins Royal Society science book prize" . The Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ "Book on gender data gap wins Royal Society Science Book Prize 2019 - Times of India" . The Times of India . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ Flood, Alison (23 September 2019). " 'Brilliant exposé' of gender data gap wins Royal Society science book prize" . The Guardian . Retrieved 23 September 2019 .
^ Flood, Alison (3 November 2020). "Neurodivergent author Camilla Pang's Explaining Humans wins Royal Society prize" . The Guardian . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ "2020 Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize" . The Royal Society . 3 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020 .
^ "Winner of The Royal Society Science Book Prize revealed" . The Irish News . 3 November 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ "Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2020" . royalsociety.org . Retrieved 24 September 2020 .
^ Bayley, Sian (29 November 2021). "Sheldrake wins Royal Society Science Book Prize with 'illuminating' fungi book" . The Bookseller . Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021 .
^ "Sheldrake wins 2021 Royal Society Science Book Prize | Books+Publishing" . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ " 'A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth' wins Royal Society Science Book Prize" . Books+Publishing . 30 November 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022 .
^ Schaub, Michael (30 November 2022). "Henry Gee Wins Royal Society Science Book Prize" . Kirkus Reviews . Retrieved 9 December 2022 .
^ Anderson, Porter (27 September 2022). "Royal Society Science Book Prize Names Its 2022 Shortlist" . Publishing Perspectives . Retrieved 3 December 2022 .
^ "Shortlist for 2022 Royal Society Science Book Prize announced" . Royal Society . 27 September 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022 .
^ Schaub, Michael (26 November 2023). "Winner of Science Book Prize Is Revealed" . Kirkus Reviews . Retrieved 26 November 2023 .
^ Schaub, Michael (29 September 2023). "Royal Society Science Book Prize Reveals Finalists" . Kirkus Reviews . Retrieved 30 September 2023 .
^ "Shortlist for 2024 Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize announced | Royal Society" . royalsociety.org . Retrieved 13 August 2024 .
External links
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